[applause] good morning. My name is erica smith, and at 17 i became a soldier. In my career as a blackhawk crew chief i worked with many phenomenal people and was deployed to iraq in 2019. On the flights overseas we were constantly watching for threats, we did not know about the silent threats we saw on a regular basis. Oil lead on fire, waste being burned, and the fuel and chemicals used on the aircraft. In 2022 during a scan for a separate injury and mass was discovered on my right kidney. I was just 23, with no Family History of cancer. I8 right, i worked out, and never smoked. Nevertheless, it was cancer. And it was growing fast. Shortly after a friend from deployment let me know he had cancer in his kidney as well. I filed a claim with the v. A. Immediately. Thankfully the pact act reduced my paperwork burden and covered my illness. By the town i have my kidney removed in october 20 202i had already begun receiving increased benefits. Benefits that help me by my first house. I am so grateful for the pack act, and i encourage other veterans to take advantage. The military gave me the courage to take risks, and the pact act gave me the ability to endure. Now it is my honor to introduce president of the United States, joe biden. [applause] pres. Biden hello, hello, hello. [applause] please. Take a seat if you have one. Thank you for that introduction. You know, is important for two reasons. One, i have been in and out of iraq and afghanistan over 38 times, and i dont think most people know this audience may no how many women we have in combat. How many women are not only doing their part, doing jobs most people would not think women would do or could do. And the sergeant is an example. You know, a blackhawk helicopter is anyway, i wont go into it all. The point is, sarge, what has happened to you has happened to thousands of people. Jill and i talk about that. What we are doing here. You know, you and your fellow veterans are the heart, the soul, and the very spine of this generation. That is a fact. You know, 1 of you volunteered to protect all of us. That is what it is. It is allvolunteer. And i want to thank dr. Williams and the great team here at Salt Lake City v. A. For hosting us. [applause] thank you for the passport into the city. I appreciate that opportunity. And governor, thank you for your hospitality. Much more importantly, thank you for taking care of our veterans. And for bringing along your beautiful family. [applause] years ago when john kerry was the nominee for president for the Democratic Party he talked to me about the possibility of being Vice President. On his ticket. We were old friends. I said, no, i didnt want to be Vice President. But had i known that as Vice President i get secret service, and had i known that my daughters have secret service, and my granddaughters, i would have thought even harder at the time. And now i have a bunch of grandchildren. They all have secret service, and my daughter has secret service. You know, it is just wonderful. [laughter] im not sure what they think about it im a but it is wonderful. Any rate, thank you very, very much. For a beginner want to say a word about the devastating wildfires that have claimed at least 36 lives in hawaii. We have just approved a major disaster declaration for hawaii which will get paid into the hands of the people desperate desperately needing help now. Anyone who has lost a loved one, whose home has been damaged or destroyed, is going to get help immediately. I have directed that we serve support to these brave firefighters and First Responders and Emergency Personnel working aroundtheclock there, risking their lives. I just got off the phone for a long conversation with governor josh green this morning, letting him know im going to make sure the state has everything needs in federal government to recover. Administrator grows well will be in maui tomorrow, and i have addressed her to streamline any request for help, and survivors registering for federal assistance without delay. Fema is searching Disaster Assistance personnel on the island and they are going to help survivors get access to federal assistance. Anybody who wants to know out there where to go, if this is televised, they can go to disasterassistance. Gov. To learn if you are eligible eligible for assistance. I have mobilized all federal assets, including the third fleet and the u. S. Army, to assist local responses, along with the Hawaii National guard. We are working as quickly as possible to fight these fires and evacuate residents and tourists. In the meantime, our prayers for the people of hawaii, but not just our prayers. Every asset we have. Some have lost loved ones, and it is not over yet. Now for the reason im here today. I have said it many times before. When i started saying at 30 years ago i got criticized occasionally for saying it. We have many obligations as a nation. We only have one truly sacred obligation that is to equip those we send into harms way and care for them and their families when they come home. And when they dont. One year ago today we met that sacred obligation when i signed, after fighting so hard, for the pact act, to sign it into law. I want to thank all of the veterans organizations for making that happen. Because it matters. The pact act is one of the most significant laws ever signed to help veterans exposed to toxic materials and help their families recover, as well as receive compensation. If you remember what we mean by burn pits, you know, we first started using the phrase people kind of looked at us. A burn pit is what you saw, basically, the giant burn pit, the first everyone was aware of was 9 11 when the buildings came down. Remember all of those firemen who died of cancer and how they got covered . When firefighters responded that is what happened. Now, the burn pits in iraq and other countries afghanistan, even in parts of throughout the middle east, they are the size of football fields. Up to 100 yards long, 20 yards to 30 yards wide, and eight to 10 feet deep. Everything you can imagine is thrown into these pits to incinerate them. The waste of war. Tires, jet, so much more. Toxic smoke thick with poison spreads through the air and into the lungs of our troops and where they live nearby, these facilities. I know, ive been there in iraq and afghanistan. Ive seen them. You can smell it in the air. You can sometimes see it. When these troops came home, many of them the fittest warriors we ever sent anywhere, there were not the same. Thousands of troops had to live not far from proximity to these burn pits. The one in iraq, my son was about 400 yards from one of the burn pits, living there for years. They breathed that toxic material for months sometimes. Causing headaches, numbness, dizziness, cancer. This is not about my son, just an example of how close it was. My son was one of those. He went in the fittest guy in his unit and came home and he came home, but died of glioblastoma. It is personal for so many of you. Undersecretary of the ba, mcdonough, and i just had a long talk. We are determined to address this problem come hell or high water. As part of my unity agenda, as i called it in my last state of the union, i tried to bring the country together on things i thought we all could agree on. The first was beating the opioid academic. Tackling Mental Health crisis. There is a Mental Health crisis in america. Supporting our veterans. Look, i delivered that speech in march of last year, and a few months later in august veterans groups making the case and never giving up, the bipartisan pact act was on my desk to sign into law. Dont tell me we came we cant get things done we Work Together. In particular i want to thank senator jon tester, chair of the Senate Veterans affairs committed committee. They never stop fighting on behalf of veterans and their families. We learned a horrible lesson after via, how harmful effects of exposure to agent orange took years to manifest themselves in veterans. Leaving too many veterans unable to access care when they needed and deserved it. They had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that that was the cause of their problems, which is difficult to prove in the long term. That is why it is important, the agent orange act of 1991. I do want to see that again. The pact act means todays veterans will not suffer the same painful, frustrating delays and none and denies. It empowers the Veterans Administration to move quicker to determine if a ring all if eyes for the benefits under law. Then if its disability compensation and regular toxic exposure screenings. It also means new facilities, new research, and new healthcare workers at v. A. Hospitals. It includes nearly 30 million for new Outpatient Clinics here in Salt Lake City. Right here. [applause] and for families who suffered a loss it means life insurance, tuition benefits, home loan assistance, and monthly stipends which cannot replace breadwinners in their home, they can help. For example, a surviving spouse of a veteran who died from toxic inlets with two children to be eligible for roughly 2300 a month for the rest of his or her life. Im proud to announce that over three and a 40,000 veteran survivors are already benefiting just one year after it was signed. Including over 2000 veterans here in utah. [applause] veterans are getting the care they deserve. For example, there is an army veteran who served in iraq now receiving care for Prostate Cancer via the v. A. In seattle. He heard about the pact act and applied for benefits the day i signed the law. Because he is already a v. A. Patient he did not need to submit article records or get separate exams. His application was approved and he has now received retroactive payments from the date the law was signed. Another army veteran now in the New HampshireNational Guard learned he had a friend and a soldier she deployed with were diagnosed with breast cancer. Just in case, she decided to get toxic exposure screening, free to all veterans enrolled in v. A. Health care. She too was diagnosed. They caught the cancer early and she is being treated for. She is being granted 100 100 serviceconnected eligibility, tripling her monthly benefits. For folks this matters. Folks, we have a moral obligation. This goes beyond financial. We have a moral obligation to respond to this. And im here today to spread the word so every veteran or surviving Family Member knows how to access benefits. Because these conditions have already taken such a toll on so many veterans and their families. I directed the department of Veterans Affairs to treat all 23 presumptive conditions in this law as applicable immediately. Like chronic bronchitis. [applause] chronic bronchitis, asthma, any types of cancer, including any type of reproductive cancer. It is something we have been fighting for for a long time. Vietnamera veterans are entitled to compensation for hypertension. This is now the law. We give you an example of why it matters. The widow of a 28year army veteran applied for Survivor Benefits after her husband died from gastrointestinal cancer. That was before the pact act was passed, and her claim was denied. In april of this year she learned about the pact act and reapply. One month later she is now presumed to be servicedconnected under the pact act. Now she is eligible for Survivors Compensation for her son and further his education, and the g. I. Bill. Veterans from decades of war in vietnam, iraq, and afghanistan, enroll in v. A. Health care. Get screening for toxic exposure and follow your plan. Those watching at home, visit va. Gov pact. Va. Gov pact. File a claim or apply for v. A. Health care now, or go to your local va hospital and reach out to a Veterans Service organization, like disabled veteran americans, the Wounded Warriors project, veterans of foreign wars, if you need additional assistance. There is no deadline to submit a claim, if you want to be eligible to receive retroactive benefits for last year you have to sign up by monday. So, apply today. The v. A. Move as quickly as possible to resolve your claim and get the benefits you deserve. We are also taking other important steps to help the nations veterans and service members. Youre helping connect veterans to apprentice programs so they can transfer the skills they learned in the military to good paying jobs here at home now that we are having the largest building boom in 40 years. The v. A. Is launching the transition Assistance Grant program. Organizations that help veterans find jobs when they leave the military. The Unemployment Rate for veterans has hit an alltime low. It is now at 2. 8 . 2. 8 . [applause] and we are damn proud of that. This spring i signed an executive order directing the v. A. To cut red tape and have veterans more flexibility in picking who will be there caregiver. Earlier this summer only to North Carolina and i signed an executive order at fort liberty. It calls for the most comprehensive set of actions to support the Economic Security of military veterans, their spouses, caregivers, and survivors. By making it easier for a Military Spouse to find a job in the federal government, expanding access to childcare, for military families. When i first took office i signed the American Rescue plan, invested 17 billion for Veterans Health care, including Mental Health care, suicide prevention, to do with the fact that more veterans have been and continue to die from suicide then battle in the past two decades. More veterans died from suicide, and all of the stories i heard in my home state, people would call up looking for help. 17 a day dying of suicide nationwide. 17 a day. Even one veteran dying of suicide means he couldnt get the help immediately. Its one too many. We are doing everything we can including expanding Mental Health screening and increasing access to legal financial help, hiring more professionals. Where my commander that was here where is my commander that was here . We are hiring more. [applause] including to recruit and help other veterans what they are going through to get the help they need. One of the things about the military, you are taught to be tough and standalone, do what you need to do. Its awful hard when you are having problems and a Mental Health problem to ask for help. Its really hard. There is no difference between having a Mental Health problem and breaking your arm or your leg. No difference. And you should not be worried about, asking for help, any more than you would if you broke your leg. Theres nothing to be ashamed of in seeking that help. Think about this. I dont know how many in my tens of thousands of miles that ive traveled through war zones, i dont know anybody who would not wonder whether or not what these veterans have seen cause posttraumatic stress its enormous. Its an enormous problem. We are working to end veteran homelessness as well. No one should be homeless in this country, especially those who served it, period. [applause] last year, the v. A. Found permanent housing for over 40,000 veterans and set a goal of permanent housing for another 38,000 this year. Im proposing to congress that Congress Join in and triple the number of rental assistance vouchers for extremely low income veterans now. Now, now. [applause] securing a bipartisan budget agreement earlier this summer and preventing an economic collapse, we stopped draconian cuts in Veterans Services. Including dedicated funding so the health care of those who served this country wont be used as a bargaining chip going forward. To try to get other things cut. The agreement also fully funds the pact act and expands nutrition benefits and will be available to our veterans. After serving this nation, no veteran should go hungry. No veteran should go hungry. [applause] just two weeks ago, i signed an executive order that significantly strengthened how the military handles Sexual Assault. We are moving the authority progressing Sexual Assault claims to specialize independent military units, outside the chain of command. That was a long time coming. It is a big deal. [applause] and thanks to senator gillibrand in new york for her leadership in this, she did not give up until she got it done. And theres more to do. We made a lot of progress. Weve got to keep going. Let me close with this, after i signed the pact act last august, it is tradition, you have the people responsible for getting it done on the stage with you when you sign it, you traditionally give the pens of the most consequential person who helped that happen. We got finished and i signed i assigned the pen to the widow and daughter of heath robinson, a veteran for whom the bill was named. His widow was also my wifes guest at the state of the union. Family that suffered the greatest of losses but turned their pain into purpose. I handed the pen not to the mother but sergeant robinsons little girl. She looked at me and said, thank you for my daddy. Thank you for my daddy. I think she was talking for all of us. Everyone who fought so hard, came together to keep their promise to the veterans and keep the faith of their heroes, that is courage. That is character. That is who all of you are. Not hyperbole. I want to thank you all, democrat, republicans, independence. For your work to get this bill to my desk and get it signed. As i said, i was going to sign that bill come hell or high water no matter how long i had to keep the congress in. Just a reminder of what we know to be true. We are the United States of america. There is nothing nothing beyond our capacity, when we decide to Work Together to get it done, we never fail when we do that. Never on any major issue. God bless you all. Lets continue to Work Together and may god save our veterans. Thank you. [applause] wasng