Enhanced benefits for vets exposed to burn pits OK’d
WASHINGTON » The Senate on Thursday approved a sweeping expansion of health care and disability benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, in response to concerns about their exposure to toxic burn pits.
Passage of the bill by a vote of 84-14 sets a course that could help millions who served after Sept. 11, 2001, and caps years of advocacy work by veterans groups and others who liken burn pits to the Agent Orange herbicide that Vietnam era veterans were exposed to in Southeast Asia.
The bill is projected to increase federal spending by about $283 billion over 10 years, and does not include offsetting spending cuts or tax increases to help pay for it. The House in March approved similar legislation that would have cost more than $320 billion over 10 years.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said after Senate passage that the House would “move swiftly” to take up the legislation and send it to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. Biden has encouraged the effort.
In a statement after the vote, Biden said the bill “makes good on our sacred obligation to care for veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.”
He urged the House to act quickly “so I can sign it into law right away.”
The military routinely used open burn pits set ablaze with jet fuel to dispose of tires, batteries, medical waste and other materials during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill would expand military veterans’ eligibility for medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs by extending coverage for 10 years after discharge instead of the current five years.
The legislation would also presume that certain respiratory illnesses and cancers were related to burn-pit exposure, allowing the veterans to obtain disability payments to compensate for their injury without having to prove the illness was a result of their service. Currently, more than 70% of disability claims related to burn-pit exposure are denied by the VA due to lack of evidence, scientific data and information from the Defense Department.
The legislation would also benefit many Vietnam War-era veterans by including high blood pressure in the list of conditions presumed to have been caused by exposure to Agent Orange. And, it would extend Agent Orange presumptions to veterans who served in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Guam and American Samoa.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., described the bill as “the greatest advance in veterans health care in decades.” He said scores of America’s veterans went off to serve their country in perfect health, only to come back and get sick from toxic exposure, and, when they applied for disability benefits, oftentimes found out they didn’t qualify.