President Joe Biden made a visit to New England Tuesday, first for an official White House event followed by private fundraisers in Boston.
Biden started his day in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he spoke at the Westwood Park YMCA. He landed just after 11 a.m., and was greeted by Gov. Chris Sununu. Biden last traveled to New Hampshire in March, speaking about his new budget proposal at a speech at a Goffstown YMCA and greeting volunteers for his reelection campaign in Manchester.
The president detailed the impact of a law that helps veterans get key benefits as a result of burn pit or other toxic exposure during their service.
In raw numbers, more than 1 million claims have been granted to veterans since Biden signed the so-called PACT Act into law in August 2022, the administration said Tuesday. That amounts to about 888,000 veterans and survivors in all 50 states who have been able to receive disability benefits under the law.
That totals about $5.7 billion in benefits given to veterans and their survivors, according to the administration.
The PACT Act is relatively lower profile compared to the president’s other legislative accomplishments — such as a bipartisan infrastructure law and a sweeping tax, climate and health care package — but it is one that is deeply personal for Biden.
He has blamed burn pits for the brain cancer that killed his son Beau, who served in Iraq, and vowed repeatedly that he would get the PACT Act into law. Burn pits are where chemicals, tires, plastics, medical equipment and human waste were disposed of on military bases and were used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But before the PACT Act became law, the Department of Veterans Affairs denied 70% of disability claims that involved burn pit exposure. Now, the law requires the VA to assume that certain respiratory illnesses and cancers were related to burn pit or other toxic exposure without the veterans having to prove the link.
Priot to the Nashua stop, Biden visited the VFW Post 8641 in nearby Merrimack, where he had a sit-down conversation with Lisa Clark, and Air Force veteran and Department of Veterans Affairs volunteer. She is receiving benefits from the PACT Act because her late husband was exposed to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam.
On the road outside the VFW post, there were several Trump supporters on the side of the road carrying Trump signs and flags.
After his New Hampshire speech, Biden headed to Boston for what the White House is calling “campaign receptions.” One of those fundraisers is being hosted by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and state Democratic Party Chairman Steve Kerrigan.
“Massachusetts is grateful for the opportunity to show our support to President Biden during his visit to Boston,” Kerrigan said in a statement released ahead of the visit. “We’ve been proud to lead the country on issues as diverse as reproductive rights and offshore wind, and we know that our ideals are shared by the President. Here in Massachusetts, we recognize the need for all Americans to have a team in the White House who fights for them and their families, and we have that team in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. It’s an honor to be able to help this campaign as we work towards four more years of decency and patriotism in the White House.”
Boston police warned of street closures between 12 and 8 p.m. near Boston Logan International Airport, in the Back Bay and Seaport District. Assorted pro-Palestinian groups said they planned to demonstrate at South Station to send the message that “Genocide Joe is not welcome here.”
The Boston Celtics said in a social media post that Biden’s visit could cause delays for those attending Tuesday night’s Celtics-Pacers game and urged people to leave extra time.
The Associated Press and State House News Service contributed to this report.