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Veterans groups urge faster, transparent PACT Act implementation and oversight of presumptive process
Summary
VSO witnesses told the committees that the Honoring Our PACT Act expanded benefits but that VA's implementation of new presumptive conditions lacks transparency; they urged Congress to oversee the process and press for timely reviews and additional presumptives.
Veterans service organizations told House and Senate Veterans' Affairs committees that Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs must push for clearer, faster implementation of the Honoring Our PACT Act and for transparent review of presumptive decisions tied to toxic exposures.
Al Lippard, national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, told the committees the PACT Act "was not a 1 and done" and emphasized the statute established a framework for VA to evaluate additional exposures. "We urge Congress to conduct oversight of VA's pre-presumptive process because veterans cannot keep waiting," Lippard said in his testimony.
Mike Figlioli, director of National Veterans Service at VFW, said stakeholders had limited meaningful engagement with VA about which conditions the department planned to review. "We haven't been able to discuss with them the conditions that are being reported to us," he said, and he called for a more transparent stakeholder process and public dialogue around proposed presumptives.
Lawmakers echoed that view. Senator Blumenthal said abrupt contract cancellations and staff changes, including to offices that support PACT Act implementation, threatened timely delivery of benefits. Ranking member Takano said the committee must ensure VA has the workforce and capabilities to deliver benefits and that Congress exercise oversight.
Witnesses urged specific legislative and administrative steps: codify clearer notice and stakeholder consultation for presumptive reviews, preserve VA program offices and staff directly tied to PACT Act implementation, and restore canceled contracts or provide transition plans to avoid gaps in claiming and adjudication. VFW and other VSOs also advocated work to expand presumptive coverage to exposures and locations not yet included and to protect programs (such as the PACT Act enterprise program office) that coordinate rollout.
Committee members asked VA and VSO witnesses for concrete examples where implementation delays were already affecting veterans, and they said they would follow up with requests for documents and program-level details. The witnesses and lawmakers asked for timely, itemized briefings to ensure the statute's intent is met and that veterans and survivors receive benefits on schedule.
The VSO leaders said that honoring the contractual obligations to veterans — the "contract" many witnesses invoked when describing military service and benefits — requires both adequate funding and staffing plus clear, timely administrative steps to implement statutory presumptions.
