{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/photos-peters-highlights-new-va-benefits-available-for-toxic-exposed-veterans-in-grand-rapids", "PHOTOS: Peters Highlights New VA Benefits Available for Toxic-Exposed Veterans in Grand Rapids", "2022-10-25", "2022", "2022-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "MI", "Gary C. Peters", "P000595", "www.peters.senate.gov", "garypeters", "https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "GRAND RAPIDS, MI \u2013 U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) was joined by local veterans at the American Legion Boat and Canoe Club in Grand Rapids today to highlight the new VA benefits now available to veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other toxic chemicals during their service. Peters helped enact into law the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act \u2013 which delivered VA health care and benefits to all generations of toxic-exposed veterans \u2014 and their survivors \u2014 for the first time in our nation\u2019s history. Peters, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, helped pass the bipartisan legislation in the Senate, which was recently signed into law by President Biden.\n\n\u201cMany of our nation\u2019s heroes are suffering as a result of being exposed to harmful substances like Agent Orange or toxic burn pits during their service,\u201d said Senator Peters, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. \u201cI was proud to help pass the Honoring Our PACT Act into law to finally ensure these veterans, along with their survivors, can obtain their long-overdue health care and benefits through the VA \u2013 and I\u2019m pleased to highlight veterans can now apply to receive those benefits by visiting the VA\u2019s website today.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you, Senator Peters, for bringing everyone together today to talk about this vital piece of legislation that\u2019s going to deliver VA health care and benefits to veterans and their surviving family members across the country, including right here in Grand Rapids,\u201d said Kent County Office of Veteran Services Supervisor Ryan Grams. \u201cAs a U.S. Army veteran \u2013 this fight is personal to me \u2013 and I\u2019m grateful to know that fellow veterans I served with and throughout the state will at long last get the care they deserve.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor veterans like myself, this bill is going to deliver needed benefits by expanding the list of locations officially recognized as being related to Agent Orange exposure \u2013 which now includes Guam, where I served, along with other locations,\u201d said local veteran Mike Blundell. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why Senator Peters bringing us all together here today is so important moving forward. Now that the bill has become law, we must continue to get the word out and encourage impacted veterans to take advantage of this right now by filing a claim \u2013 which is exactly what I plan to do.\u201d\n\n\u201cDuring my time in the service, I was deployed to Iraq where I was exposed to burn pits and toxic chemicals,\u201d said local veteran David Walker. \u201cNow that the PACT Act has become law, post-9/11 veterans like myself who were exposed to burn pits \u2013 along with the survivors of veterans who passed due to health complications like toxic exposure \u2013 can now access the benefits and health care we need. I\u2019m grateful to Senator Peters for his leadership in helping to pass this bill into law \u2013 and encourage all veterans with similar stories to my family to contact the VA and get their claim started.\u201d\n\nVeterans can now file claims to apply for PACT Act-related benefits by calling the Veterans Administration (VA) at 800-698-2411 or filing a claim online for disability benefits and/or VA health care. For more information about the PACT Act, click here.\n\nSenator Peters and local veterans highlight new VA health care, benefits now available to all generations of toxic-exposed veterans at American Legion in Grand Rapids.\n\nPeters is a strong advocate for Michigan\u2019s servicemembers and veterans. Last year, Peters was inducted into the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor for his efforts to support our nation\u2019s veterans and military. In 2017, Peters was recognized as Legislator of the Year by the Vietnam Veterans of America for authoring the bipartisan Fairness for Veterans Act, which was signed into law. The legislation requires veteran discharge review boards to give liberal consideration to petitions for honorable discharge status if the servicemember has been diagnosed with PTSD, TBI or other related conditions connected to their military service. As of the fall of 2020, more than 1,500 veterans have had their discharges upgraded since his legislation was enacted.\n\nPeters also introduced bipartisan legislation to protect veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during their service. The Burn Pits Accountability Act would require that servicemembers be assessed for exposure to open toxic burn pits as part of their routine health exams, as this exposure has been known to lead to cancer, cardiovascular toxicity, reproductive issues and neurological damage for numerous Afghanistan and Iraq War veterans.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:20:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/photos-peters-highlights-new-va-benefits-available-for-toxic-exposed-veterans-in-grand-rapids"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3734570238739252, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}