Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., said that Pentagon personnel exposed to toxic materials following 9/11 should receive PACT Act benefits. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. / Getty Images
Plan to expand PACT Act eligibility for 9/11 Pentagon personnel introduced
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., wants to provide Defense Department personnel present at the Pentagon following the 9/11 attacks access to benefits provided by the landmark veteran health care bill.
New legislation on Capitol Hill is aiming to correct a health care coverage gap for Defense Department personnel affected by the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., is seeking to expand benefits eligibility under the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act by extending it to DOD personnel with persistent and significant health effects resulting from working in the Pentagon in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Susan E. Lukas 9/11 Servicemember Fairness Act (H.R. 5339) — named for a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel present during the attacks and their aftermath — would offer personnel employed at the Pentagon between Sept. 11 and Nov. 19, 2001, a presumption of service connection to their health conditions under the PACT Act as result of their toxic exposure following the attacks.
The bill seeks to extend that coverage, the congressman said, because those DOD personnel aren’t currently covered under benefits afforded to other 9/11 victims and first responders, such as the World Trade Center Health Program and others.
“There are so many servicemembers who witnessed the devastating attack on the Pentagon on 9/11 and then bravely reported for duty soon thereafter to keep our country safe, exposing themselves to harmful toxicants that forever impacted their health,” said Subramanyam in a statement. “These heroic men and women deserve the same benefits under the PACT Act that Congress has provided to other servicemembers, and I am proud to introduce this bill to close the gap in coverage.”
Lukas, who still has lasting health effects from attacks, said in a statement that the legislation was essential to ensure personnel can get the care they need.
“On 9/11, I was serving at the Pentagon and was required to return to duty the very next day, unaware that the environment we were exposed to would have lasting consequences for our health,” she said. “As a constituent and a veteran, I thank the congressman for his commitment to ensuring that no servicemember exposed to these conditions is left behind.”
The PACT Act, which became law in 2022 opened Veterans Affairs benefits eligibility to veterans exposed to burn pits overseas, acting alongside 2024 VA regulations to expand the presumed coverage area where Vietnam veterans may have been exposed to herbicide agents commonly known as Agent Orange.
As of August 2025, there have been more than 2.6 million PACT claims submitted by more than 1.9 million eligible veterans and survivors. Nearly 488,000 eligible PACT Act beneficiaries have enrolled for new coverage since it became law.
The bill has been referred to the House Veterans Affairs’ Committee.