North Miami-Dade News

Representatives María Elvira Salazar and Joaquín Castro have led a bipartisan group of 17 members of the House of Representatives in urging the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand benefits and services for veterans who became ill with cancer and other health conditions after exposure to toxic herbicides during their service in the Panama Canal Zone (PCZ).

"At least 400 veterans who served in the Panama Canal Zone have now developed cancer, heart diseases, or other health issues consistent with herbicide exposure. However, they have consistently been denied the disability compensation and recognition they desperately need and deserve... We strongly recommend that you utilize the processes within the PACT Law to provide PCZ veterans with the compensation they have earned and urgently need. We look forward to working together to ensure that all our veterans receive the compensation they deserve," wrote the representatives.

The Congress passed the "Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act" in 2022, which expanded the presumption of service connection for certain diseases associated with herbicide exposure to veterans who served offshore of Vietnam and near the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Although the PACT Law did not extend the same presumption to PCZ veterans, it did grant the Department of Veterans Affairs the authority and independence to expand the service-related presumption to eligible groups of veterans. In their letter on Friday, the members urged Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough to use his authority to extend PACT Law benefits to PCZ veterans.

In order to permanently support the needs of PCZ veterans, Salazar and Castro also introduced the Panama Canal Zone Veterans Act, which would establish a legal presumption of service connection for over a dozen diseases and conditions associated with herbicide exposure in the PCZ between 1958 and 1999.

Other representatives who signed the letter include Gus Bilirakis, Kat Cammack, André Carson, Greg Casar, Danny Davis, Brian Fitzpatrick, Josh Gottheimer, Al Green, Thomas Kean, Susie Lee, Brian Mast, Morgan McGarvey, James Moylan, Eleanor Norton, Jamie Raskin, Dina Titus, and David Trone.

The full letter can be found [here](#).