�������ýҕ�l

The House is poised to pass legislation that would dramatically boost health care services and disability benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill set for a vote Thursday has the backing of the nation’s major veterans groups and underscores the continued cost of war years after the fighting has stopped. If passed into law, it would increase spending by more than $300 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. (Freking, 3/3)

President Joe Biden will travel to Texas next week for a stop in Fort Worth where the White House says he will “discuss upholding our sacred obligation to veterans. ”The White House did not provide any further details in an announcement on Wednesday. The trip comes after Biden used part of his State of the Union speech on Tuesday to call on Congress to pass a law expanding benefits for veterans with health problems from exposures to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. Biden also announced his administration was expanding eligibility to veterans suffering from nine respiratory cancers. (Wermund, 3/2)

Comedian Jon Stewart expressed hope on Wednesday that there will be progress on helping veterans exposed to toxic burn pits after the issue was mentioned during President Biden's State of the Union. During his State of the Union address, Biden discussed the dangers troops in Iraq and Afghanistan face, including "breathing in toxic smoke from burn pits," and he suggested this may have been the reason his son, Beau Biden, died from brain cancer. Stewart has pushed for Congress to help veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, delving into the issue during the first episode of his Apple show The Problem with Jon Stewart. (Morrow, 3/2)

Burn pits are large piles of toxic debris burned on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan with jet fuel. They're known to cause certain types of cancer in veterans that lead to painful deaths. Four years ago, we took an in-depth look at the drastic, long-term effects burn pits have on veterans here in the valley. Jennifer Kepner, a local veteran from Cathedral City, died at the age of 39 from pancreatic cancer caused by exposure to burn pits. We spoke to her back in 2017 about the hardships she faced after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. (White and Campos, 3/2)

The widow of Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson, a veteran who succumbed to a rare and deadly cancer after his exposure to burn pits, recalls her reaction when President Biden invited her to Tuesday night’s State of the Union address. "Surprised, to say the least," Danielle Robinson told Fox News about the invitation she received earlier this week. "I am a physical therapist and was in the middle of working with one of my dear patients with balance exercises when my front desk staff told me I needed to go answer some calls on my cellphone. "Little did I know that in 24 hours, I would be sitting with Dr. Jill Biden at the State of the Union address. Still does not feel real." (Chiaramonte, 3/2)

Legislation to add extended healthcare benefits to American veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits overseas has hit the House floor, which could impact hundreds of thousands of veterans like Sheridan resident Derrick Raynor. At just 20 years old, Raynor made the decision to serve his country in the U.S. Army. Soon after his training he was deployed to Afghanistan in December 2010 having no idea what he was flying into. "When I first got there, it was like 135 degrees over there," he said. "The smell as soon as you got off the C-130, it smacks you in the face." That smell he later found out were toxic chemicals due to a massive burn pit on base. He explained, "So all of the poop and human waste as trash and stuff went into this big lake and then they're burning that. That's burning 24/7, so that means you're breathing that stuff in every day." (Rose, 3/3)

The Biden administration included paid sick leave provisions as part of its new COVID-19 preparedness plan, which calls for a raft of measures meant to manage the U.S. through its new "post-pandemic" era. The emergency sick leave provisions passed in 2020 at the outset of the pandemic expired that year and weren't renewed— despite protests from worker advocates and at least one study that showed the policy reduced the spread of the virus. The administration said Wednesday that it will work with Congress to provide paid sick leave to people who need to miss work due to COVID-19 or to care for a loved one who has the virus. (Peck, 3/2)

President Joe Biden called for passing a new federal paid family and medical leave policy in his State of the Union Address Tuesday night. However, the timing of when such a law could be put in place is still up in the air. The policy is part of Democrats’ sweeping social spending plan, Build Back Better, that has stalled on Capitol Hill. The party had aimed to pass the legislation through a simple majority. But opposition from some leaders, particularly Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., has dimmed its prospects. If paid family and medical leave were to go forward, it would bring the U.S. in line with most other developed nations that already have paid leave policies. (Konish, 3/2)

Nursing home resident advocates and those in charge of the facilities are at odds over industry reforms President Joe Biden announced Tuesday during the State of the Union address. While both groups agree changes need to be made, they part ways over what needs to be done and how that should be accomplished. During the State of the Union, Biden announced plans to improve conditions at nursing homes by setting minimum staffing requirements, addressing overcrowding, cutting back on the overuse of antipsychotic medications and increasing inspections and enforcement. (Christ, 3/2)