The Senate considered a bill on Monday to improve health care for veterans exposed to toxic substances, particularly originating
Watch the debate in the player above.
Last week, President Joe Biden signed into law nine bipartisan bills that will improve care for America's veterans at the White House.
"Our nation has many obligations. It only has one truly sacred obligation," said Biden. "And that's to prepare and equip those we send into harm's way, and to care for them and their families when they come home. It's a sacred obligation because veterans are the backbone, the spine of who we are as a country."
Before the signing, Biden spoke about his son Beau, who fell ill and died of brain cancer several years after he served. Biden suggested Beau's illness could have been caused by toxic burn pits often used by the military to eliminate waste.
"We need to talk about burn pits that incinerate waste of war tires, poisonous chemicals, jet fuels, and so much more, I won't even mention," said Biden. "Toxic smoke with the poison spreading through our bases and into the lungs of our troops. And when they came home, many of the fittest and best trained warriors we've ever had were not the same. Headaches, numbness, dizziness. Cancer. My son Beau was one of them."
This is a developing story and will be updated.