The Department of Veterans Affairs is adding nine rare respiratory cancers to its list of presumptive service-connected disabilities for veterans exposed to toxins in burn pits during their military service, President Joe Biden announced Monday.
‘In my State of the Union address, I announced that we would propose expanding disability and health benefits to veterans suffering from nine rare respiratory cancers,’ Biden said in a statement. ‘Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs is delivering on that promise and upholding that sacred obligation to the women and men who have worn the uniform of our country.’
Biden’s late son Beau was exposed to toxic burn pits during his military service in Iraq.
Biden has said he believes there could be a connection to the burn pits Beau was stationed near and his illiness. Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015.
‘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 March during a meeting with veterans in Texas. ‘But I’m committed to finding out everything we can.’
The Department of Veterans Affairs is adding nine rare respiratory cancers to its list of presumptive service-connected disabilities for veterans exposed to toxins in burn pits during their military service – above U.S. Marines burn trash in Afghanistan in 2012
Joe Biden has said he believes there could be a connection to the burn pits Beau Biden was stationed near in Iraq and his brain cancer, Beau died in 2015 – above then-Vice President Joe Biden with Beau Biden in Iraq in July 2009
In his statement on Monday, Biden also pushed Congress to pass legislation aimed at helping veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, saying, ‘I will sign it immediately.’
The rare respiratory cancers added to the VA’s list include squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea, adenocarcinoma of the trachea, salivary gland-type tumors of the trachea, adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung, large cell carcinoma of the lung, salivary gland-type tumors of the lung, sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung and typical and atypical carcinoid of the lung.
The Department of Veterans Affairs began processing disability claims for asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis as presumptive conditions in August.
The new rule allows for veterans serving in the Southwest Asia theater of operations starting August 2, 1990, or in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Syria or Djibouti starting September 19, 2001, to file for disability compensation claims. Veterans who have or had any of the cancers during or after their military service may be eligible to receive the benefits.
The Department of Veteran Affairs will also allow veterans, survivors or dependents who had claims previously denied to file a supplemental claim for benefits.
Eighty-six percent of post-9/11 veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan say they were exposed to burn pits, according to a 2020 survey by the nonprofit Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
Biden made supporting veterans one of the key pillars of his ‘Unity Agenda’ 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.
A trash burn pit at Forward Operating Base Caferetta Nawzad, Helmand province south of Kabul, Afghanistan in 2011
Solides burn trash in Afghnistan in 2012 – Eighty-six percent of post-9/11 veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan say they were exposed to burn pits
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
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 during his Texas visit.
Experts are less definitive about the link between burn pit emissions and long-term medical conditions.
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