In Texas, Biden Says New Legislation Could Expand Benefits for Burn


WASHINGTON — President Biden on Tuesday called for broadly expanded health benefits for veterans, particularly those who fell ill after inhaling toxic substances from burning wastes in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, which he believes contributed to the cancer that killed his eldest son. , Beau.

For Mr. Biden, the issue is personal and political: Last week, in his State of the Union speech, he said he would provide expanded benefits for veterans as part of the local agenda that the White House has reshaped to highlight bipartisan kindness after the failure. to win the passage of a more comprehensive social safety net plan last year.

On Tuesday, Mr. Biden briefly turned his attention from a fierce war in Europe to travel with Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough to a clinic near Fort Worth. There, the president met veterans who had suffered spinal cord injuries and began coughing up black matter after serving near the pits as the military’s garbage disposal fires were known.

Speaking to an audience of veterans and lawmakers, Mr. Biden said it took years for researchers and lawmakers to better understand the harmful effects of the defoliant Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War. He compared this to what he believed was delayed in examining the effects of toxins inhaled by soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan who burned garbage and other waste. Burn pits are typically filled with rubbish such as medical waste and vehicles, and then filled with jet fuel and incinerated.

Mr Biden pointed worked as senator Young veterans, often deployed more than once, to support research into the effects of Agent Orange and to Iraq and Afghanistan, deserve similar support, he said.

“Today, we’re even slower to piece together what’s going on,” Mr. Biden said during his remarks. He pointed out that new diseases, including bladder cancer, were added as possible consequences of exposure to Agent Orange, some as recently as last year.

“Science has told us more, decades after the exposure took place,” Biden said. “I think it took too long to come to that decision, and I refuse to repeat that mistake when it comes to veterans of our Iraq and Afghan wars.”

Proving a link between toxic substances in war zones and the diseases veterans were subsequently exposed to was politically troublesome for lawmakers and prohibitively expensive for many who fell ill. But activists who have fought for interests for years see a champion in Mr. Biden. speculated for a long time He said the toxic substances from the burn pits contributed to his son’s brain cancer. The younger Mr. Biden, who died in 2015He served in Iraq as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard.

“What better advocate can we have than the president of the United States?” Susan Zeier whose son-in-law died of lung cancer After serving in Iraq, he said in an interview. Ms. Zeier, a member of a group of activists who have sought government attention for years, found a sympathetic audience in Mr. Biden.

“Some members of Congress walking slow on this, I think they’re finally seeing the light,” he added.

Three members of Congress – two Democrats and a Republican – traveled to Fort Worth with Mr. Biden. One of them, Texas Republican Representative Jake Ellzey, described his own military years as a reason for his decision to join Mr. Biden for the event.

“There are many things that are not right in our country and in our world today,” said Mr. Ellzey. “These are tough times. These are scary times. At the end of the day, we’re not putting R&D in front of the veteran.”

Mr. Biden noted the extent of bipartisan support for a bill, passed the parliament last weekThis will expand disability benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances and categorize more health issues related to burn pit exposure. Florida Republican Senators Marco Rubio and New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand also have a bill to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs benefits for soldiers exposed to burn pits.

“These are the bills that will unite the American people,” Mr. Biden said. “Let’s bring these bills to my desk so I can sign them right away.”

Opponents of the law passed by parliament say it will only increase the already extensive workload for others seeking medical care. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, an Iowa Republican and a veteran, called the bill “wildly expensive” and accused its writers of partisanship.

“The people who will bear the brunt of the lackluster action of the House of Democrats today are ordinary Americans who Congress just needs to get the job done,” he said last week after the bill passed the House.

Both supporters and opponents of the legislation agree that more research is needed to determine whether diseases that veterans develop after serving are linked to burn pits. The Department of Veterans Affairs has said in the past that there is little evidence to prove that burn pits contribute to veterans’ illness, and it still recommends that many symptoms should go away after exposure has ended.

But the department also says researchers are “actively studying airborne hazards such as burn pits and other military environmental exposures.” according to an agency webpage About the subject.

Last weekThe department announced that it will seek to add nine rare respiratory cancers to the list of service-related disabilities caused by exposure to toxic chemicals in burn pits. Mr Biden acknowledged that more research needs to be done on links between burn pits and subsequent illness, but said he wanted the department to support veterans in the meantime.

“When the evidence doesn’t provide a clear answer one way or another, our preferred decision is to look at our veterans as we continue to learn more,” Biden said. “Not waiting, not waiting.”



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