The bill is a major bipartisan victory for Congress and addresses an issue that affects the President personally. Biden said he believes there was a connection between the brain tumor that killed his 46-year-old son Beau Biden and the burn pits Beau was exposed to during his military service.
Incineration pits were commonly used to burn waste — including garbage, ammunition, hazardous materials, and chemical compounds — at military sites in Iraq and Afghanistan until about 2010. Often operating on or near military bases, these huge open-air incineration pits released dangerous toxins into the air that the Department of Veterans Affairs said could have caused short- and long-term health problems.
“Noxious smoke, thick with poison, spreading through the air and into the lungs of our troops. When they got home, many of the fittest and best warriors we sent to war were not the same. Headaches, numbness, Dizziness, cancer. My son Beau was one of them,” Biden said.
The bill adds conditions related to burn pits and toxic exposure, including high blood pressure, to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ list of diseases that arose or got worse during military service and relieves veterans of the burden of proving their toxic exposure to those conditions has led. It could provide cover for up to 3.5 million toxic veterans.
“I wanted to get through this, come hell or high water,” Biden said, calling the law “the most significant law our nation has ever passed to help millions of veterans who are exposed to toxic substances during their military service.” “
The President said, “We have many responsibilities and only one truly sacred obligation: to provide for those we put at risk and to care for them and their families when they come home.”
Biden was introduced Wednesday by Danielle Robinson, the wife of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, after whom the legislation is named. Her daughter, Brielle Robinson, was by her side. Danielle Robinson was a guest of First Lady Jill Biden at Biden’s State of the Union address as he urged Congress to pass cremation pit legislation.
Home Secretary Deb Haaland, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were scheduled to attend the White House signing of the bill.
The White House welcomes the legislation known as the PACT Act as the most significant expansion of benefits and services for veterans exposed to toxins in more than 30 years.
The bipartisan bill was passed by Congress last week after Republicans, who previously backed the measure, temporarily blocked progress of the bill while they attempted to add cost-controlling changes to the package. The surprise Republican move sparked a swift backlash from veterans and veterans’ groups, and supporters of the measure protested on the steps of the US Capitol for days. They were joined by comedian and political activist Jon Stewart, who has served as the leading advocate for veterans on the issue.