Why Do Veterans Have to Fight for Healthcare They've Already Earned?
A Message To All Veterans & Military Families: You Deserve Better
Yesterday was Veteran’s Day, and each November marks National Veterans and Military Families Month. So, it feels like a good time to talk about the challenges veterans have faced accessing medical care and benefits.
Let me tell you something about toxic exposure, as I know a thing or two about it. I’ve spent my life fighting for people poisoned by corporations who knew damn well what they were doing and did it anyway. But here’s what makes my blood boil: when the people we send into harm’s way come home and have to fight for the care they’ve already earned.
Toxic exposures are common in service. Read that again. Common. Either overseas in combat zones or during training at U.S. military bases. Such exposure may result in serious illness that might not manifest itself until much later in life.
I’m not talking about rare accidents. I’m talking about routine exposure to burn pits, Agent Orange, contaminated water, and God knows what else. Yet when these brave men and women come home sick, they get bureaucracy instead of benefits.
The PACT Act was intended to help resolve these issues and get more veterans the care they deserve.
More than a million veterans have received benefits after it was signed into law in 2022. They finally, finally, saw a sliver of hope that someone in Washington was paying attention. But you know what’s cruel? The idea that after military service, you would have to fight for benefits you’ve already earned. That’s not just wrong; it’s unconscionable.
We spend trillions on our defense budget, but suddenly we want to count pennies when it comes to veterans’ healthcare. Make that make sense. You can’t. Because it doesn’t.
The System Is Failing Them—Again
Here’s what should infuriate every single American: the current Administration is reportedly rolling back benefits for presumptive conditions established under the landmark PACT Act. Without scientific evidence. Just pulling coverage for veterans with rare, deadly cancers, like male breast cancer, because some bureaucrat decided their suffering doesn’t count anymore.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, the Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member, has introduced the CLARITY Act to force the VA to be transparent about which toxic exposure conditions they’re covering and which they’re quietly removing.
This comes on the heels of ProPublica reporting exposing the current Administration for rolling back benefits for a presumptive condition established under the landmark PACT Act for toxic-exposed veterans.
The fact that we need legislation to make the VA tell veterans whether their cancer qualifies for care tells you everything you need to know about our broken system.
“This measure guarantees essential information to veterans suffering from toxic exposure-related illnesses,” Blumenthal said in a statement.
Hungry for Benefits
In addition to accessing essential healthcare, there’s also the issue of helping veterans put food on the table.
As many of you know, the federal shutdown brought a newfound focus on lapsed payouts for the nation’s biggest anti-hunger program, known as SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
What I haven’t seen many people talk about is how about 1.2 million veterans live in households that rely on SNAP. Those payments are still on hold.
These people served our country, and some members of Congress want to cut their food assistance by about 20 percent. Let me say that plainly: they want to take food away from veterans.
Some politicians want to expand punitive work requirements that would strip food assistance from even more veterans, despite the fact that many face unemployment, disabilities, and health challenges directly related to their service.
“And the Administration, rather than curbing costs for the average American worker, including veterans, is prioritizing historic cuts, and I mean unprecedented cuts, in SNAP, Medicaid, and health care coverage,” Blumenthal said at a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing held last week.
What We Owe Them
Many veterans haven’t had access to critical health services provided by the VA. They’re dealing with lower employment rates, chronic health conditions, and a system that seems designed to wear them down until they give up.
I can’t tell you how many emails I get from families that are still discovering that the base they lived on had contaminated water. Here’s an interactive map run by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, showing 180 Superfund sites that were identified by the EPA as having PFAS contamination. Many current and former bases and training sites are also contaminated with lead, benzene, TCE, and other harmful chemicals thanks to jet fuel spills or the inappropriate disposal of waste.
This isn’t complicated. When someone signs up to serve our country, we make them a promise. We promise that if they put their life on the line for us, we’ll take care of them when they come home. That’s the deal.
Breaking that promise isn’t just bad policy; it’s a moral failure.
Let’s be clear about what honoring our veterans actually means. It means fighting like hell to make sure they get every single benefit they’ve earned. It means not tolerating anyone who tries to nickel and dime people who’ve already paid the ultimate price.
They fought for us. The least we can do is fight for them.
No excuses. No exceptions. No backing down.
Learn more about the PACT Act and how to access services here.
For immediate mental health support, veterans can contact the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988, then pressing 1, or by texting 838255.