Biden Announces Expansion of PACT Act During Veterans Day Observance

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs is expanding the types of cancers covered under the PACT Act, legislation he signed into law in August 2022 to expand health care services to toxic-exposed veterans.

“Over the course of our nation’s history, millions of veterans were exposed to toxins like Agent Orange and burn pits during their military service that incinerated the waste of war — tires, chemicals, batteries, jet fuel and so much more,” Biden said in the ceremonial amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery just after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Those exposures, he said, “left too many veterans with headaches, numbness, dizziness, asthma and cancer.”

“The PACT Act has already helped over 1 million veterans and their families get the benefits they deserve,” the president continued. “Today, I’m proud to announce that the Department of Veterans Affairs will expand the number of cancers covered under the act and extend coverage to all veterans who served at the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base in Uzbekistan.”

Specifically, under rulemaking that will commence before the Biden administration leaves office, the VA will add bladder cancer, ureter cancer, multiple myeloma and leukemias to the list of conditions presumed to be related to burn pit exposure for all veterans deployed to the Southwest Asia area of operations.

In addition, the VA is proceeding with an accelerated review to support rulemaking that would create a presumption for Gulf War-deployed veterans, including those who were deployed to Karshi-Khanabad, a location described as a “toxic soup of exposures,” and are diagnosed with rare conditions that could be related to the many “contaminants of concern” found at K2.

“We want to honor you; we want to have your back,” Biden said to the veterans who have suffered as a result of such exposures.

“We’re going to create a rule to make sure you don’t have to prove your illness was a consequence of your service, which is often too hard to do,” Biden said. “God willing, we will make sure that any rare condition you’ve developed is covered.”

The issue, of course, is personal for the president. His son Beau, who First Lady Jill Biden helped raise, served in the Delaware Army National Guard and deployed to Iraq in 2008 for about a year. He died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.

Today’s solemn observance of Veterans Day was also the first joint appearance by both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris since her election loss. Both wore solemn expressions on their faces and placed their hands over their hearts as the national anthem was played before the wreath-laying.

They did so again, as “Taps” was sounded.

Speaking for his final time as commander in chief of the U.S. military, Biden said it has been “the greatest honor of my life, to lead you, to serve you, to care for you, to defend you, just as you defended us, generation after generation after generation.”

“You are the greatest fighting force, and this is not hyperbole, the finest fighting force in the history of the world,” he said.

The president stated that America’s “truly sacred obligation” is to prepare those it sends into harm’s way and care for them when they come home — and care for their families when they don’t.

“To all the military families, to all those with a loved one still missing or unaccounted for, to all Americans grieving the loss of a loved one who wore the uniform, Jill and I want you to know we see you, we thank you and we’ll never stop working to meet our sacred obligation to you and your family,” he said.

After the observance, Biden flew to his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, for the unveiling of a flag display and a bronze plaque in memory of his late son Beau.

The monument is on the grounds of Grubb-Worth Mansion at Holy Rosary on Philadelphia Pike. 

The Guardian of Defenders Memorial is described as “the first national war memorial honoring all who gave their lives in the global war on terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq.”

During brief remarks, a clearly emotional Biden again reminded attendees at the ceremony of the nation’s sacred obligation to its veterans.

“We’ve never walked away from [that duty], even though there’s been temptation to walk away,” Biden said. 

He also said he thinks about Beau “every day, especially today.”

“He was so damn proud he joined the military. Our entire family felt that pride,” he said.

Earlier on Monday, the president and first lady hosted veterans and members of the military community at a gathering at the White House to commemorate Veterans Day.

Among the administration officials in attendance were Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Small Business Administrator Isabel Guzman, and Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Tanya Bradsher.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue