Historic Expansion of Benefits and Services for Toxic Exposed Veterans
President Biden signed into law the PACT Act – the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans in more than 30 years. This law also enables the Department of Veterans Affairs to move more quickly in the future to determine if illnesses are related to military service, and it offers critical support to survivors who were harmed by exposures. And, the law authorized 31 new clinical sites and provides VA several tools and resources to ensure effective implementation of the law.
THAT’S NOT ALL — PRESIDENT BIDEN HAS ALSO:
Invested historic funding for Tribal governments and Native communities
- Advanced cutting-edge research on cancer and other diseases through the ARPA-H initiative
- Signed legislation to put more cops on the beat and invest in community policing
- Signed the Electoral Count Act, which takes long overdue steps to protect the integrity of our elections
- Lowered the cost of hearing aids by making them available over the counter
- Created more manufacturing jobs in 2022 than in any single year in nearly 30 years
- Signed an Executive Order to encourage competition across industries
- Took action to lower energy costs for families
- Lowered seniors’ health care expenses, including by capping out of pocket expenses on prescription drugs for seniors at $2,000 per year, ensuring that people enrolled in Medicare will not pay more than $35 for a month’s supply of insulin, and recipients will receive free vaccines
- Accelerated adoption of electric vehicles by reducing costs for families, jumpstarted the first national EV charging network, and made historic investments into EV batteries and materials
- Rejoined the Paris Agreement on day one to reassert the United States global leadership to combat the climate crisis
- Jumpstarted the American offshore wind industry and convened the nation’s first federal-state offshore wind partnership
- Set new policies to reduce super pollutants like HFCs and methane to protect communities and reduce emissions fueling climate change
- Lowered the deficit with the single largest annual reduction in American history
- Secured commitments from 20 leading internet providers to increase speeds and cut prices
- Signed legislation to reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act
- Awarded the most ever federal contracting dollars to small businesses and disadvantaged small businesses
- Reignited the Cancer Moonshot with the goal of cutting the cancer death rate by at least half over the next 25 years
- Appointed a record number of women and people of color to serve in his Administration
- Hosted the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years and released a National Strategy to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases and disparities by 2030
- Awarded more than $1 billion to initiate cleanup and clear the backlog of 49 previously unfunded Superfund sites, over $250 million to clean up hundreds of contaminated brownfield sites and $725 million for abandoned mine lands
- Restored protections for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monuments and designated Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument to conserve our lands and waters, honor our nation’s veterans, protect Tribal cultural resources, and support jobs and America’s outdoor recreation economy
- Signed an Executive Order on Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People
- Invested historic funding for Tribal governments and Native communities
- Mailed over 740 million free COVID-19 tests directly to tens of millions of Americans
Source: Department of Health and Human Services
ResultsFor The American People
Two strongest years of job growth in history
More than 40 million borrowers stand to benefit from student debt relief
Nearly 11 million jobs created since 2021
Taken over 100 actions to lower household energy costs by $100 per year
Helped bring gas prices down more than $1.60 from their summer 2022 peak
Signed the most significant gun violence prevention legislation in nearly 30 years
Increased the maximum value of Pell Grants by $900
3.5% unemployment rate — the lowest in 50 years
750,000 new manufacturing jobs
Near a record low unemployment rate for Hispanics
Near a record low unemployment rate for African-Americans
Record low unemployment rate for people with disabilities
Millions of Americans are saving $800 per year on health insurance coverage
$15 minimum wage for Federal workers and contractors
Fully vaccinated 79% of American adults against COVID-19
Led the world in a historic release of strategic reserves
Infrastructure investments in all 50 states, D.C., territories, and throughout Tribal nations
Over 16 million households receiving lower cost or free high-speed internet through the Affordable Connectivity Program
