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President Joe Biden signed into law legislation Wednesday aimed at expanding health care to veterans exposed to toxic substances in the line of duty.
The Honoring Our PACT Act passed Congress with bipartisan support last week and addresses a policy proposal pushed by the president during his State of the Union address in March. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) believes that burn pits, which were often used to burn waste and trash during military operations in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, have since sparked a host of health issues for veterans.
We have many obligations, but only one sacred obligation: to equip and care for those who are sent into danger. He said, “I was going get it done come hell and high water.”
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The president also mentioned his son, Beau Biden, an Iraq War veteran who died in 2015 at the age of 46 after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Biden previously suggested that his son was affected by the burn pits. However, he said during Wednesday’s State of the Union Address that “we don’t know for certain
” Toxic smoke thick with poison spreading through the atmosphere into the lungs of the troops.” Many of our best and fittest warriors were different when they returned home. Headaches, numbness, dizziness, cancer. My son Beau was one of them.”
The new law expands access to both health care and disability benefits for veterans suffering from issues relating to burn pits exposure, Biden explained. Families of veteran who have died from burn pits exposure can receive payments monthly and other assistance. (RELATED: ‘He’s Been A Consistent D*ck’: Jon Stewart Lashes Out At Sen. Toomey Over Veteran Funding)
“This new law matters. It is important. “It matters greatly,” said the president.
