Sen. Duckworth wants VA to identify toxic threats before veterans get sick

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, is set to introduce legislation Tuesday that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to more quickly assess toxic hazards in combat zones, expanding access to health care and disability benefits for troops who develop illnesses linked to their service.

The bill would give the VA 180 days to assess toxic hazards, which can include exposure to intense pollution, radiation or chemicals, in any new combat zones troops serve in and recommend whether those who served there should be presumed to have been exposed and potentially eligible of healthcare and compensation, according to an outline of the bill.

There is currently no clear mechanism for adding new combat zones to the list of more than a dozen countries and territories where troops are already presumed to have faced toxic exposure.

It would also require the department to revisit overseas assignments at least every five years, looking for hazards that may have gone unrecognized.

The proposal would expand on the PACT Act, which opened VA care and benefits to millions of veterans in 2022 after years of pressure by veterans groups and key advocates such as comedian Jon Stewart, who had advocated for similar assistance for sick 9/11 first responders.

Duckworth's bill would also add Iran to the list of covered combat zones as a proactive measure. While no specific toxic threat has been identified, the provision would account for potential exposure to environmental hazards as the conflict continues, including those that could arise from damaged oil facilities, chemical spills or the use of chemical weapons.

"With a new generation of troops being thrown into another war in the Middle East, our nation must learn the lessons from previous conflicts and proactively ensure Iran Veterans don't suffer from those same mistakes," Duckworth said in a statement to ABC News.

The PACT Act marked one of the largest expansions of veterans' health care and disability benefits in U.S. history, with nearly $280 billion in new spending projected over a decade, according to an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.

The bill dramatically eased the burden on veterans seeking disability benefits by easing the need to prove that certain cancers and respiratory illnesses were directly caused by toxic exposure during military service. Instead, qualifying service can be enough to establish that link.

That included veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan exposed to smoke from burn pits, the makeshift garbage disposal sites where troops burned trash, medical waste, jet fuel and plastics, which the VA has linked to a series of respiratory issues and cancers.

The law also expanded presumptions of Agent Orange exposure for veterans who served in Laos, Cambodia and other countries in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War era. Other provisions covered radiation exposure among troops who responded to the 1968 crash of a nuclear-armed B-52 near Thule Air Force Base in Greenland.

Previously, veterans faced a daunting evidentiary hurdle of documenting exposure that may have occurred decades earlier and proving it caused an illness that surfaced years after leaving the military, claims were often tangled in legal disputes or stuck in a bureaucratic slog.

By May 2024, the VA had approved 1 million claims for healthcare and disability compensation tied to the PACT Act for veterans, according to agency data.