WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) for a virtual roundtable yesterday on the final passage of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022, legislation that will deliver comprehensive benefits to all generations of veterans who have suffered due to toxic exposure for the first time in our nation's history.

"The PACT Act would not be headed to the president's desk right now without the dedication and advocacy of Veterans Service Organizations in Ohio and around the country," said Brown. "Because of the work of VSOs over many years, more Ohio veterans and their families will now get the health care and benefits they earned serving all of us."

The PACT Act is named inhonor of Heath Robinson, a Central Ohio veteran who deployed to Kosovo and Iraq with the Ohio National Guard and passed away from cancer in 2020 as a result of toxic exposure during his military service. Brown recently joined SFC Robinson's family to urge his Senate colleagues to keep their promise to our veterans and pass the PACT Act. In March, Brown welcomed Heath's widow Danielle Robinson to Washington D.C. for President Biden's first State of the Union Address. Robinson was invited to be the guest of First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. Now Heath's bill heads to President Biden's desk to be signed into law.

Brown has long been an outspoken advocate for veterans' mental health care needs, especially for those who are returning to civilian life. In April 2021, Brown introduced the Daniel J. Harvey Jr. and Adam Lambert Improving Servicemember Transition to Reduce Veteran Suicide Act - bipartisan legislation named to honor the memory of two Marines who died by suicide, Iowan Cpl. Adam Lambert and Rhode Islander Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Harvey Jr. - Brown's legislation would expand a VA program where servicemembers sit down with a VA social worker during the transition process to connect them with VA resources and connect veterans with their local VA.

During a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing last year, Brown pressed a DoD official for updates on issues facing veterans reentering civilian life. In the hearing, Brown focused on facilitating smooth, healthy transitions to civilian life with regard to mental health and exposure of environmental toxins. During his questioning of Under Secretary Cisneros, Brown highlighted stories from Ohio veterans who have struggled with the transition from service to civilian life, and pressed for a plan to help servicemembers as they transition from DoD to VA care.

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