{"id":74647,"date":"2023-07-14T13:31:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T13:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/native\/uncategorized\/veteran-supporters-urging-its-time-to-apply-for-pact-act-benefits\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:40:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:40:21","slug":"veteran-supporters-urging-its-time-to-apply-for-pact-act-benefits","status":"publish","type":"native","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/native\/taps\/veteran-supporters-urging-its-time-to-apply-for-pact-act-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Veteran Supporters Urging: It\u2019s Time to Apply for PACT Act Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KSnWquW03H8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen title=\"Jon Stewart urges Military Survivors and Veterans to apply for PACT Act Benefits\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the one-year anniversary of the historic PACT Act signing approaches, the Department of Veterans Affairs \u2014 with support from the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS \u2014 is ramping up an already aggressive campaign to deliver the legislation\u2019s promised benefits and increased presumptions to veterans who were exposed to toxins while serving and family members who have lost a loved one to a service-connected illness. The urgency to file is the fast-approaching Aug. 9 deadline. Veterans and survivors who wish to qualify for backdated benefits must submit their claims or intent to file by Aug. 9, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is important to note that there is no deadline to apply for benefits under PACT Act in general, but the financial impact of these retroactive benefits could be significant. The VA and TAPS encourage veterans, caregivers, and illness-loss survivors to submit their applications as soon as possible to maximize their benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">TAPS is specifically working on outreach to those who lost a family member to service-connected illness. \u201cBoth TAPS and our partners at the VA understand that filing claims is not just the act of electronically filing paperwork,\u201d states Bonnie Carroll, TAPS President. \u201cFor surviving family members, choosing to revisit the circumstances of loss is a difficult decision, and navigating government forms can be intimidating for those who are grieving. TAPS is standing ready to guide illness-loss survivors through the VA\u2019s streamlined process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After learning about the PACT Act and being told she might be eligible for benefits, surviving spouse, Kerrie Wieners, expected a fight, but after years of caretaking, the tragic loss of her husband, and years of navigating grief, she admitted, \u201cI didn\u2019t have a fight left in me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kerrie\u2019s late husband, Robert F. Wieners, Jr., a U.S. Army Reserve veteran, died in April of 2011 after developing lung cancer caused by prolonged exposure to burn pits while deployed to Iraq shortly after 9\/11. Kerrie recalls the many satellite phone calls she got from Bob while he was in Iraq. In addition to his words of love and reassurance \u2014 and even humor \u2014 in those phone calls, Kerrie remembers, even then, his talk of burn pits stuck out to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3287\" height=\"2193\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3-2.jpg-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3-2.jpg-2.jpg 3287w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3-2.jpg-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3-2.jpg-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3-2.jpg-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3-2.jpg-2.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-3-2.jpg-2.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3287px) 100vw, 3287px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Army Reservist Robert F. Wieners, Jr., on deployment in Iraq in 2003<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bob came home to her and their two children after that deployment, but Kerrie noticed a change. \u201cHe was hurt.\u201d But it wasn\u2019t until he was recovering after neck and back surgery that they would discover how hurt Bob really was. His physical therapist discovered blood clots in both of Bob\u2019s legs. He instructed Bob to see his primary care doctor and not to leave until he knew what was wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an attempt to find the cause of the blood clots, Bob\u2019s medical team \u2014 seemingly by accident \u2014 discovered a brain bleed. Further testing revealed a baseball-sized mass in his chest. The eventual diagnosis was stage 4 lung cancer. Kerrie\u2019s immediate question was, \u201cHow long does he have?\u201d and the answer was six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kerrie shares that it took four six-month life expectancy estimates before Bob eventually lost his battle with cancer \u2014 a testament to the fight he had in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2686\" height=\"3435\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1-3.jpg-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1-3.jpg-3.jpg 2686w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1-3.jpg-3.jpg?resize=235,300 235w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1-3.jpg-3.jpg?resize=768,982 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1-3.jpg-3.jpg?resize=801,1024 801w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1-3.jpg-3.jpg?resize=1201,1536 1201w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1-3.jpg-3.jpg?resize=1601,2048 1601w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2686px) 100vw, 2686px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Surviving spouse Kerrie Wieners with her late husband, U.S. Army Reservist Robert F. Wieners, Jr., and firstborn son in 1992.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Years later, Kerrie wondered if she could fight like that. After a previous denial for VA benefits, could she try again? Would she be successful, and would it be worth it? Not knowing who to turn to for help, she looked to TAPS. A process that she thought would take years \u2014 and even then held no promise of benefits at the finish line \u2014 was much shorter. Within minutes, a TAPS caseworker assured her that if Bob\u2019s death certificate cited lung cancer, she would get PACT Act benefits. Her forms were drawn up, she signed electronically, and she was referred to a local contact for in-person support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just weeks later, Kerrie received a check from the Department of the Treasury \u2014 a check she thought would never come. After the shock wore off, she faced another emotion: guilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She asked herself, \u201cDo I deserve this? Am I just being greedy?\u201d But, her message to any illness-loss survivor hesitant to file a PACT Act claim is this: The barriers between survivors and benefits aren\u2019t always visible. The VA has done tremendous work to right a complicated process and expand benefits that were once only available to a narrow population of veterans. But legislation isn\u2019t always enough. What might be holding a survivor back from filing are the things they carry \u2014 the perceived intimidation of the process, the desire not to reopen emotional wounds, and the guilt rooted in collecting benefits they deserve, but may not think they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Illness-loss survivors do not have to face the process alone. Kerrie shares simply, \u201cIf I didn\u2019t have help, I wouldn\u2019t have benefits.\u201d TAPS was that help for Kerrie, and \u2014 Ms. Carroll shares \u2014 \u201cTAPS is standing by to support all illness-loss survivors in pursuit of retroactive PACT Act benefits through the Aug. 9 deadline, and, as we have been for nearly 30 years, we will remain a constant source of support and resources for all those grieving the death of a military or veteran loved one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/va.gov\/pactact\">va.gov\/pact<\/a> to begin filing your claim today, and <a href=\"http:\/\/taps.org\/pactact\">taps.org\/pactact<\/a> for filing assistance and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/scrippsnews.com\/stories\/jon-stewart-activists-urge-veterans-to-apply-for-exposure-benefits\/\">Continue reading<\/a> about Kerrie Wieners\u2019 experience and the veteran and survivor advocacy work of Jon Stewart and TAPS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":107426,"menu_order":0,"template":"single-native-legacy","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"11"},"advertiser":[3460],"class_list":["post-74647","native","type-native","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","advertiser-taps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"By: Kristi Stolzenberg","legacy_arc_id":"37MQKIOPONHLZINEBTZYPO75VM","arc_canonical_url":"\/native\/TAPS\/2023\/07\/14\/veteran-supporters-urging-its-time-to-apply-for-pact-act-benefits\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"native-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Veteran Supporters Urging: It\u2019s Time to Apply for PACT Act Benefits - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" 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