Livingston County supports the recent passage of The Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The act makes significant progress toward increasing access to Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and disability benefits for veterans exposed to airborne toxins during their military service, while also approving federal resources to expand and strengthen County Veterans Service Officers (CVSO) through the Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act, said Livingston County Veteran Services Director Jason Skinner.
Skinner serves as the Vice Chairperson of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Veterans and Military Services Committee. He has been integral in advocating for the PACT Act on behalf of counties and is now urging the U.S. Senate to quickly pass it.
“CVSOs are local county employees who are nationally accredited by the VA to assist veterans with their VA claims,” said Skinner. “They are funded almost entirely by counties, which creates a challenge when serving veterans in rural areas like ours. This act authorizes $250 million over five years in federal competitive grant funding, which will allow us to better serve more of our local veteran population.”
Annually, CVSOs are responsible for helping veterans obtain more than $50 billion in federal health, disability, pensions and compensation benefits.
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