Just minutes after President Joe Biden signed legislation that gives thousands of sick post-9/11 veterans better access to health care and disability benefits, Sri Benson worked his way to the commander in chief and slipped him a Ziploc baggie containing a note and a photo of an Army soldier.
That soldier, Sri's wife Katie, died July 9 at age 36 of mesothelioma, believed to be tied to her military service in Kuwait. Biden took the bag, embraced Sri and whispered in his ear.
“I told him my wife's final words, and he gave me his son's,” Benson said in an interview following the signing of the Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics, or PACT, Act, Wednesday at the White House. “It was special.”
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For veterans, advocates and loved ones of service members who died of exposure-related illnesses, the signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House marked the culmination of decades of work to attain recognition, health care and benefits for troops sickened by burn pits, pollution, radiation, chemicals and other deployment-related health hazards.
Biden said the bill fulfills a promise he made when he took office, meeting a “sacred obligation” to get veterans needed benefits and care.
“These conditions have already taken such a toll on so many veterans and their families,”…
