President Joe Biden signs legislation named for Ohio guardsman to help veterans injured by military burn pits

President Joe Biden signs legislation named for Ohio guardsman to help veterans injured by military burn pits

 Washington d.  C.  Ten years later, Sgt.  1st Class Heather Robinson returned to Ohio from military service in Iraq, battling lung cancer caused by toxic fumes from a burning pit in Baghdad, where the military burned trash.  More than two years after his death, President Joe Biden signed legislation named after the Pickerington veterans to ensure that the Veterans Administration provides adequate health care to veterans suffering from burn pit-related illnesses.

   This legislation has been a long time coming, but we finally got it together, said Biden, who handed Robinson's daughter Brielle the pen he used to sign the legislation.  I don't want the press to hear that Democrats, Republicans can't work together.  

   Described as the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic-exposed veterans in more than 30 years, legislation passed by Congress earlier this month would remove the requirement for veterans and their survivors to prove a service-connected connection if they are diagnosed with 23.  Situations involving burn pits, and paperwork and exams to get benefits for them and their survivors will be reduced.  The list of medical conditions includes 11 respiratory diseases, along with several types of cancer, as well as brain cancers such as reproductive cancers, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer and glioblastoma.  Survivors of veterans who died from one of these conditions may also now be eligible for benefits.

   The condition has already taken a toll on many veterans and their families, added Biden, who expressed confidence that the brain cancer that killed his son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, could have been part of his military service.  A burnt pit in between

   The law also establishes 31 new Veterans Administration health care facilities in 19 states, requires veterans enrolled in VA health care to be routinely screened for toxic exposure-related concerns, and must be notified of toxic exposure-related benefits to the VA.  About and need to establish an outreach program for supporting veterans.  It sets up a website at www.va.gov/pact that affected veterans can consult for more information on how to obtain benefits.  By January 2023, the VA expects to have a fully operational call center and network of experts to assist veterans concerned about environmental risks and provide counseling services to veterans in primary care clinics.

   Biden was introduced at the signing ceremony by Robinson's widow, Danielle, who was among First Lady Jill Biden's guests at her State of the Union address in March.  She remembered her husband as a close friend to all who crossed her path, someone who would quickly drop whatever she was doing to help a friend or stranger in the room she was in.  brightness and warmth.

   We only have one story, he added.  So many military families have to deal with this terrible emotional battle.  So many veterans are still struggling with burn pit disease.  Many have lost their lives due to these diseases.

   VA Secretary Dennis McDonough described Robinson as not only a survivor of an American hero...lost and our families will not have to endure the loss to make today possible.

   Sherrod Brown, the Ohio Democrat who pushed the legislation, issued a statement saying veterans waited too long for it to pass.

   Providing health care and benefits for elderly victims of toxic exposure is the price of going to war, Brown said.  If you were exposed to toxic substances while serving our country, you are entitled to accrued benefits, period.  No exception.