Tears of both sadness and joy filled the White House on Wednesday morning as President Joe Biden signed into law a bill to assist veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military service.
The largest contingent of those at the signing ceremony — veterans whose health was harmed by smoke from waste “burn pits” during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — lamented the harm done to so many while cheering comedian Jon Stewart, the leader of their long fight for Congress to provide health care for those affected.
A smaller group of veterans and family members in the crowded East Room, whose lives were upended by contaminated drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, owed their presence to a lower-profile advocate on their behalf, South Carolina attorney Ed Bell.
