United States: Joe Biden will take this election year in his effort to sell his legislative accomplishments with a trip to New Hampshire on Tuesday to talk about the effects of a law that helps veterans get key benefits because of the burn pit or other toxic exposures during their service according to the report.
Impact of the PACT Act
The White House said that more than 1 million claims have been approved for veterans since Biden signed the so-called PACT Act in August 2022. About 888,000 veterans and survivors in all the states have benefited from the disability benefits under the law, as reported by Associated Press.
The administration claims that this totals about USD 5.7 billion in benefits to veterans and their dependents.
Addressing Past Challenges
“The president, I think, has believed now for too long, too many veterans who got sick serving and fighting for our country had to fight the VA for their care, too,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough told reporters on Monday.
The PACT Act is not as high-profile as President Biden’s other legislative successes, such as an infrastructure bill and a tax, climate, and health care law; nonetheless, it represents a policy that is dear to the commander-in-chief.
Personal Connection and Presidential Commitment
He has linked burn pits to brain cancer that took the life of his son, Beau, who died after serving Iraq, and promised on numerous occasions that he would get the PACT Act enacted. The burn pits are where chemicals, tires, plastics, medical equipment, and human waste were burned on military bases and were used on the bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, as reported by Associated Press.
These numbers are disturbing because prior to the PACT Act becoming law, the VA denied 70 percent of disability claims involving burn pit exposure. But then the law goes ahead to mandate the VA to presume that an individual with respiratory illnesses or cancers resulted from exposure to burn pit or any other toxins.