“Since President Biden took office, VA has delivered more care and more benefits to more veterans than ever before,” McDonough said. The VA processed nearly 2 million claims in 2023, a 16% increase over the previous year, he said.
McDonough attributes the uptick in part to the PACT Act, legislation enacted last year to ensure that service members exposed to toxic substances, such as Agent Orange, or toxic particulate matter from burn pits in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, receive both current and retroactive benefits.
“Since September 11, 2001, many (service members) have experienced multiple deployments, and come home gripped by both the visible and invisible wounds of war,” McDonough said. “That impact on their lives, in some cases, will continue long after the guns of war have silenced.”