Blumenthal Praises VA Announcement That Surviving Families Will Soon Be Able to Reapply for PACT Act Benefits

[Hartford, CT] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today praised a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announcement that the surviving family members of veterans who died from PACT Act illnesses will soon be able to reapply for benefits if they have had a claim denied in the past.

“I am proud beyond words that relief will be available for surviving family members of veterans who died from the horrific diseases caused by exposure to burn pits and toxic chemicals. Sadly, in passing the PACT Act last year, we were too late for thousands of veterans who suffered years of pain and sickness following their service — including Connecticut resident Peter Antioho who died in 2019 of terminal brain cancer. This new rule will continue to correct these historic wrongs and do right by survivors’ families so that no one has to fight for benefits they rightly deserve. It’s a matter of simple justice.”

The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act is comprehensive legislation to deliver multiple generations of veterans exposed to burn pits and dangerous toxins access to healthcare and benefits.

The VA announced Monday that surviving family members who were previously denied benefits would have another chance to apply.

The PACT Act was signed into law by President Biden in August 2022 and will deliver relief to post-9/11 veterans exposed to burn pits and will correct the nearly 80 percent rejection rate faced by burn pit veterans seeking claims. The legislation also includes provisions championed by Blumenthal to expand benefits, healthcare, and compensation to veteran populations that are not currently able to access services: veterans who responded to the nuclear disaster in Palomares, Spain, those who were deployed to the K2 Air Base, and veterans and families exposed to toxins in the water supply at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Peter Antioho of Berlin, Connecticut served in the United States Army and was exposed to toxic burn pits during his deployment to Afghanistan in 2012. After being diagnosed with a grade four brain tumor and terminal brain cancer, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) twice rejected his claims for disability benefits, arguing the burden was on him to prove the cancer was caused by the burn pits. Antioho’s claims were only approved following assistance from Blumenthal’s office in 2019, a little over a year before Antioho died.

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