Biden vows to help veterans who face health fallout from burn pits

President Joe Biden pivoted from high gas prices and the Russian invasion of the Ukraine on Tuesday to a more personal issue – veterans’ health care.

Biden was in Fort Worth, Texas, to meet with veterans and their caregivers and push for more help for members of the military who face health problems after exposure to burn pits. 

‘We don’t know enough yet about burn pits and the connection between these diseases that our veterans are suffering,’ the president said but noted he was committed to pushing for more funding for the issue. 

It’s a personal issue for Biden, whose son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015. Biden has said he believes there could be a connection to the burn pits Beau was stationed near during his time in Iraq and his illiness.

‘We don’t know for sure if a burn pit was the cause of his brain cancer, or the diseases of so many of our troops,’ Biden said in his speech. ‘But I’m committed to finding out everything we can.’

‘But we only have one truly sacred obligation, and I mean this, sacred obligation. And that is to train and equip those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home,’ he said of veterans. 

Biden was in Texas to highlight the need for more funds to help veterans

Joe Biden’s son Beau, who died in 2015, served in Iraq; above Biden visited Beau in 2009 when he was vice president and Beau was stationed at Camp Victory

The president argued ‘when the evidence doesn’t give a clear answer one way or another, the decision we should favor is caring for our veterans while we continue to learn more – not waiting.’  

Both President Biden and his wife Jill Biden spoke of their late son Beau on Tuesday. 

The first lady was in Tucson, Arizona, to discuss the Bidens’ resurrected ‘cancer moonshot’ and its personal meaning for their family.

‘You know, it’s really personal for me and Joe. As you know, we lost our son to cancer. And so one of the things is Joe and I decided to do was find purpose in that law. And it’s something that I think our son would want us to do. So Joe is totally committed to this,’ she said.

President Biden first announced the Cancer Moonshot when he was serving as vice president and after the 2015 death of son Beau to brain cancer. 

The Bidens relaunched the initiative recently, with the president highlighting it in his State of the Union speech – speaking about the use of burn pits by the military in Afghanistan and Iraq.

That section of the speech received extra attention because the president was interrupted by a screaming Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert who was booed by Democrats and yelled at by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham for her outburst.

It was also highlighted because Danielle Robinson, the widow of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, who died of a rare autoimmune disorder and stage 4 lung cancer after being exposed to environmental hazards and burn pits while serving, was one of the guests in Jill Biden’s box during the president’s speech.

After her husband’s death in May 2020, Robinson became an advocate for veterans suffering from such health issues.      

First Lady Jill Biden visited the Tohono O’odham Nation Tuesday in Tucson, Arizona to talk about the resurrected ‘cancer moonshot’ and about how ‘personal’ cancer is to her after the death of son, Beau  

Jill Biden hosted Danielle Robinson, the widow of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, who died of a rare autoimmune disorder and stage 4 lung cancer after being exposed to environmental hazards and burn pits while serving, in her box during the State of the Union address

Biden shared her story during his remarks in Texas. 

‘Families like hers, like so many of yours, you’re the reason why we’re doing everything we can,’ he said. 

‘Every single solitary veteran deserves to be treated with dignity. They shouldn’t have to ask for a damn thing,’ Biden noted.

‘It should be, ‘I’ve got a problem’ and we should say, ‘How can I help?’ the president said.

‘We’re asking you to tell us. Tell us what your needs are. Don’t be ashamed. We owe you.’

The U.S. military in both Afghanistan and Iraq disposed of garbage and waste in open air burn pits that many believe poisoned veterans with toxins in the smoke. Beau Biden served in Iraq as a member of the Delaware National Guard. Heath Robinson also served there as a member of the Ohio National Guard. 

‘I spent a fair amount of time there as a United States senator and as vice president. The burn pits and incinerate wastes of war, medical and hazardous materials, jet fuel and so much more, just dug in big pits, not far from the hooches, not far from where our veterans were sleeping. When our troops came home, the fittest among them, the greatest fighting force in the history of the world, too many of them were not the same, headaches, dizziness, numbness, dizziness, cancer,’ Biden said.

Experts are less definitive about the link between burn pit emissions and long-term medical conditions. 

During his visit to Texas, Biden also visited a clinic where he met with a veteran who learned to walk again with the help of an exoskeleton device. 

The veteran, John, was stationed near a pit and later had six weeks of treatment and chemotherapy. Biden greeted John, who was seated in a wheelchair, asking him, ‘How are you?’  

‘Good to see you man, let me say hi to you,’ Biden said, walking over to shake his hand.

He watched John demonstrate how he learned to walk with the medical device.   

John said he has been using the device for weekly therapy and walking in it since 2014. He said it’s not his, he borrows it from the VA.