Veterans Affairs staffers immediately will begin processing new toxic exposure claims for veterans facing terminal illnesses, three weeks before other cases already pending in the system.

Officials said the move will ensure that veterans facing life-threatening conditions will “receive their earned benefits and health care on the earliest possible date.” About 2,500 veterans are expected to be affected by the move.

“These veterans have stepped up to serve our country in the times when we needed them most, and now it’s our job to step up for them,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough in a statement. “It’s the right thing to do to get these heroes the world-class healthcare and benefits they’ve earned as soon as possible, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Since the summer, more than 176,000 veterans have applied for VA benefits under the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (better known as the PACT Act).

The legislation provides for presumptive benefit status for 12 types of cancer and 12 other respiratory illnesses linked to burn pit exposure in the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq; hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) for veterans who served in Vietnam; and radiation-related illnesses for veterans who served in several new locations in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Presumptive status for service-connected illnesses cuts down on the paperwork veterans are required to file to receive monthly disability...

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