PACT Act Has Funding for 2 MD Vet Clinics

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer was joined by other members of the state’s delegation to applaud President Biden’s signing of legislation to open two veterans’ outpatient clinics in Maryland.

The bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, or PACT Act, provides health care benefits for all generations of toxic-exposed veterans for the first time in the nation’s history and will improve access to care for those who served in our nation’s armed forces.

The lawmakers fought to include authorization and funding for the two Maryland veterans’ health clinics – one in the Baltimore region and another in Prince George’s County; $43 million will support the construction of a new Baltimore Community Based Outpatient Clinic, which will replace and expand the outpatient services currently provided at the existing Baltimore VA Clinic Annex on Fayette Street while reducing the strain on the Baltimore VA Medical Center, and $32 million is set aside for the construction of a Prince George’s CBOC. The new facility will be significantly larger than the existing clinic in the southern part of the county and represents a major upgrade for area veterans, as the new clinic will be equipped to provide services beyond the capabilities of the current clinic as well as the Southeast Washington, DC, CBOC.

“This historic piece of legislation will have a significant impact on the lives of Prince George’s County veterans, improving the quality of their health care and ensuring that they receive the benefits and services they deserve. I am glad that President Biden has signed this historic bill into law, and I look forward to witnessing the positive difference it will make in the Fifth District and throughout the state of Maryland,” said Congressman Hoyer (D-MD).

For the Prince George’s clinic, the PACT Act provides for a lease of an approximately 85,116-square-foot outpatient clinic, including 600 parking spaces. The new facility would enable VA to accommodate the workload that the southern Prince George’s County and Southeast DC CBOCs currently service, which has increased since the closure of the Greenbelt CBOC in 2015 and allow more patients to receive care closer to their homes.

About the PACT Act

Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson deployed to Kosovo and Iraq with the Ohio National Guard. He died in 2020 from toxic exposure as a result of his military service. Among its many priorities, the PACT Act of 2022 will:

• Expand VA health care eligibility to post-9/11 combat veterans, which includes more than 3.5 million toxic-exposed veterans
• Create a framework for the establishment of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure
• Add 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related conditions to VA’s list of service presumptions, including hypertension
• Expand presumptions related to Agent Orange exposure
• Includes Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Guam, American Samoa, and Johnston Atoll as locations for Agent Orange exposure
• Strengthen federal research on toxic exposure
• Improve VA’s resources and training for toxic-exposed veterans
• Set VA and veterans up for success by investing in VA claims processing, VA’s workforce, and VA health care facilities
• Establish 31 new VA health care facilities across 19 states, including the two in Maryland

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For more information about House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader member page.