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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced Monday that it created a fast-track to disability compensation for veterans who developed one of nine rare respiratory cancers because of their exposure to toxic burn pits during overseas deployments.
The cancers were added to the department’s presumptive list, which lowers the amount of evidence veterans must provide to receive VA benefits. The cancers to be added to the list are squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea, adenocarcinoma 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.
“To the veterans watching today, if you are suffering from any of those conditions … you may be eligible for disability benefits without having to prove causality between your service and your condition,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said Monday during a news conference. “I know many of you have been waiting far too long for these benefits and now, hopefully, you need not wait any longer.”
President Joe Biden first committed to the policy change during his State of the Union address this year, referencing seeing his late son Beau Biden suffer and die from brain cancer after serving in Iraq. The president has long speculated his son’s exposure to burn pits may have caused that cancer.
“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,” said Biden in a statement today.
“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.”
Burn pits, huge and constantly burning trash piles during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, have been linked to severe conditions in soldiers who were exposed to their fumes.
The VA said in a statement that the policy change is based on a “biologically plausible” connection between burn pit fumes and rare respiratory cancers. Last year, the VA also added rhinitis, sinusitis and asthma to its list of presumptive conditions.
Biden expressed his support for additional measures from Congress addressing toxic exposure, saying he would sign bipartisan legislation “immediately.”
The “Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act,” H.R. 3967, passed the House earlier this year and has been pushed hard by activists as the only sufficient legislative package to fully address the problem.
The “PACT Act” has so far stalled in the Senate. Republican support for the bill has been low because of its high price tag, with a Congressional Budget Office estimate putting the bill’s cost at over $250 billion over the next decade.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has expressed support for the legislation and committed to holding a vote this year.
