At a March 20 Boston City Council Committee on Veterans and Military Families hearing, city and VA officials discussed the Department of Veterans Affairs’ recent expansion of presumptive conditions and how the change intersects with local outreach and capacity.

Councilor Ed Flynn read the docket on new cancer presumptions announced by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and said the city must understand how increased eligibility will affect local services. "With the signing of the PACT Act in 2022," Flynn said, "more veterans are eligible for benefits related to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic exposures."

Rob Santiago, commissioner of the City of Boston Office of Veterans Services, told the committee that the city keeps a live veterans information webpage (boston.gov/veterans) that includes guidance on the PACT Act and state HERO Act resources. He urged veterans to contact the city office for help navigating claims and benefits and to note that some exposure testing is available to people who are not yet VA patients.

Rhonda Weiner, a pulmonary physician and VA researcher, said the VA is studying exposure-related health effects and that the system has seen an influx of veterans seeking care since the PACT Act and other policy changes. She warned that proposed federal cuts could threaten both clinical services and research capacity. "This is a very active area of research for the VA to try to understand what the health effects of the various toxic exposures are," Weiner said.

Committee members asked whether veterans must already be registered with the VA to get toxic exposure testing; witnesses said veterans do not have to be VA patients to get the toxic exposure test and that screening can help identify previously unrecognized conditions.

Speakers also raised a broader concern: several witnesses said morale among VA staff is fragile and that staffing reductions would reduce capacity just as eligibility expands under the PACT Act. Commissioner Santiago described the incoming demand and said any federal staff reductions would be felt locally.

The committee did not take votes. Councilors said they would continue monitoring federal decisions, provide outreach information to veterans and consider future hearings focused on benefits navigation and local capacity.