WASHINGTON, DC — Representatives Paul D. Tonko (NY-20) and Glenn "GT" Thompson (PA-15) led a bipartisan letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today urging them to provide an update on the implementation of an epidemiological study for Fort McClellan veterans. The provision, authored by Tonko, was included in the Honoring our PACT Act, which was signed into law in August 2022… Read more »
WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Paul D. Tonko today voted against the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that House Republicans used to force through extreme, partisan issues that undermine national security, strip women in uniform of access to health care, and target LGBTQ+ servicemembers.
“The National Defense Authorization Act has long served as a bipartisan bill… Read more »
AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko celebrated the passage of the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act in the Senate last night that expands access to care for veterans exposed to toxic substances in the line of duty. Tonko’s statement is below:
“Last night’s vote will have a life-changing impact on the brave veterans who fought for us and whose health… Read more »
WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Paul D. Tonko voted last night to pass the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, also called the Honoring our PACT Act. The Honoring our PACT Act—advanced out of the House with a strong bipartisan vote of 342-88—will finally treat exposure to toxic substances as a cost of war by addressing the full range of issues impacting… Read more »
WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Paul D. Tonko today voted to advance H.R. 3967, the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act or Honoring our PACT Act, which will finally treat toxic exposure as a cost of war by addressing the full range of issues impacting toxic-exposed veterans’, and includes Tonko’s Fort McClellan Health Registry Act. Tonko’s bill establishes a health… Read more »
AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko spoke before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs today to push for swift review and passage of his bill H.R. 2825, the Fort McClellan Health Registry Act to establish a health registry tracking links between service at Fort McClellan and the painful, chronic health problems—“various forms of cancer, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia,… Read more »
WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko reintroduced his Fort McClellan Health Registry Act today, legislation that establishes a health registry tracking links between service at Fort McClellan and the severe life-long health problems plaguing many of the veterans who served there. In the past, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has not accepted any link between adverse health effects… Read more »
WASHINGTON—U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) introduced H.Res 263: the Yellow Ribbon Day Resolution this week expressing Congressional support for designating April 9th as Yellow Ribbon Day to honor the service and sacrifice of active duty troops at home and abroad, and their families throughout the United States.
“Our active duty service members and their… Read more »
“If you take the time to listen to the stories of sick veterans who served at Fort McClellan, they will break your heart. These folks are patriots who signed up knowing their military service would come with very real risks, even beyond the battlefield, but that is no excuse for America to abandon them in their time of need. For too long, these veterans have been left, alone and forgotten by the nation they served, to suffer painful illness and indignity. It is long past time for these selfless warriors to get the answers they deserve.” - Rep. Paul Tonko Read more »
