Lawmakers Question Veterans Affairs Secretary on Use of Toxic Exposures Fund

At a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on March 29, lawmakers continued to press Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough on a budget issue that is top of mind for many in Congress: how the VA plans to use a block of the money that was appropriated in the PACT Act, the landmark law passed last August that compensates veterans and their families for harm veterans incurred as a result of exposure to toxins.
The PACT Act, in which Congress wrapped the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF), includes $300 billion in financial compensation.
McDonough appeared at the Military Construction (MILCON) and VA subcommittee hearing, the focus of which was for the secretary to testify in support of the Biden administration’s proposed $325.1 billion budget for the VA for 2024….