Takano Condemns Politically Driven Rollback of PACT Act Benefits
Secretary Collins is restricting veterans’ life-saving care
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Meagan Whalen (Communications Director)
Elain Shubat (Deputy Communications Director/Digital Director)
Press Contact
Meagan Whalen (Communications Director)
Elain Shubat (Deputy Communications Director/Digital Director)
WASHINGTON— Today, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano issued the following statement, following a letter he led with Democratic Members of the House to Secretary Doug Collins demanding the immediate reversal of VA's decision to remove male breast cancer from the list of presumptive conditions covered under the PACT Act.
The Members warned that the move reflects a broader trend within the Trump Administration to undermine laws expanding veterans’ benefits in order to appease a political agenda, instead of following scientific guidance and the law Congress passed.
“This Administration’s actions show more interest in dismantling veterans’ hard-won benefits than delivering the care they earned. The PACT Act was passed to ensure timely access to care for all toxic-exposed veterans. Reversing a science-based decision because it conflicts with a political narrative betrays that promise. Because of the rarity of male breast cancer, we’re finding that male veterans receive diagnoses at an older age and present with later disease stages than women veterans who receive diagnoses,” said Ranking Member Takano. “Cancer does not care about ideology, and neither should the agency charged with caring for those who served. The PACT Act is the law, not a suggestion, and VA must follow the evidence, not political orders that distort science for politics.”
The letter details how VA’s June 2025 memo — issued to comply with the Trump Administration’s “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism” executive order — contradicts both scientific evidence and the intent of Congress. Lawmakers warn that redefining who qualifies for care based on ideology sets a dangerous precedent for future benefits decisions.
The Members called on Secretary Collins to immediately restore male breast cancer as a presumptive condition under the PACT Act and to provide Congress with data and analysis used to justify the policy change.
Please click here to read the full letter.
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