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Committee backs resolution urging VA and Congress to reconsider vaccine, anthrax injuries under PACT Act
Summary
A committee approved House Joint Resolution 98 urging Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs to consider COVID-19 and anthrax vaccine injuries under the PACT Act; the committee advanced the measure to calendar and rules by a 16-6 vote after a former Army officer testified in support.
Representative Fritz presented House Joint Resolution 98, which urges Congress and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to recognize certain vaccine-related injuries for service members under provisions of the PACT Act.
Brad Miller of Clarksville, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, testified in favor of the resolution. "The Department of the Veterans Affairs current refusal to acknowledge vaccine injury inhibits their ability to provide adequate diagnosis for those service members harmed by COVID or anthrax shots," Miller said during a three-minute appearance.
Miller argued that the Veterans Affairs implementation guidance excludes vaccines from the broad "toxic exposure risk activity" (TERRA) language of the PACT Act, and he urged the committee to request that Congress and the VA review the decision. Representative Fritz said the resolution seeks to avoid a decades-long delay in recognizing chemical or medical exposures, drawing parallels to past delays in recognizing Agent Orange effects on Vietnam veterans.
Representative Mitchell strongly objected to inserting the resolution into the PACT Act discussion, saying the PACT Act was the product of bipartisan work focused on burn pits and other toxic exposures. The chair later called the question on the previous question motion; the clerk reported the previous question passed 16-6 and the final committee vote on the resolution also passed 16-6. The clerk announced, "Mister chair, you have 16 I 6 nay." House Joint Resolution 98 will move to calendar and rules.
The hearing included a brief period for public comment and questions after the witness's testimony. The committee did not attach amendments to the resolution before advancing it.
