Aug. 20—ALBANY — When a bill providing help for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq was blocked for a vote in the U.S. Senate, Jim Lorraine wasn’t overly concerned.
Legislation had passed with huge bipartisan support in June, but had to be voted on again to correct language in the bills, and 25 Republican lawmakers reversed their earlier votes in July.
After the PACT Act was passed the following week, President Biden signed the legislation expanding health care benefits for veteran soldiers exposed to burn pits on Aug. 10.
“It isn’t that it didn’t pass (initially), it didn’t move from deliberation to a vote,” said Lorraine, who is president and CEO of America’s Warrior Partnership, an organization that works with military and local officials on veterans issues, including health care and suicide prevention. “It’s a procedural vote. I understand that. The great thing about our republic, debate is a good thing. They had some more debate. You could tell from the debate they supported it.”
Now the need is to move from funding to making sure that veterans can get the help they need, he said. The PACT Act covers a list of identified medical conditions for those who served in the two war theaters, whereas previously the burden of proof that wartime exposure to toxic burning chemicals caused an illness was on the veteran.
“No. 1, the biggest thing is there’s going to be a flood of claims,” said Lorraine, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel who was exposed to burn pits in other locations than those covered in the legislation. “What we know is the DVA (Department of Veterans Affairs) was flooded before the pandemic hit. Our concern, from the history of the VA, is I don’t think they have the capacity to do the old claims and do these new claims at the same time.
“We are 100% (for) opening up the VA for medical care for people that had toxic exposure. Get them the care right now.”
That is the easier part of the equation, but it is disability cases that tend to be time-consuming, the veteran officer said.
“There were a lot of veterans who had toxic exposure who had symptoms of toxic exposure who did not have access to health care. Now they have that, and that is great. At the same time, the VA needs to figure out how they’re going to process the claims for the disability payments.”
Time is one thing many of the veterans don’t have a lot of.
Another need is to work on ensuring that military personnel won’t be sickened by burn pits in the future, said Lorraine, who at the time of his retirement was serving as deputy command surgeon for the U.S. Special Forces Command and investigating illnesses linked to toxic exposure. Congressional committees basically work in silos, so a committee involved in veterans’ affairs will address the impact of toxic exposure but it is within the Department of Defense’s purview to look at a solution.
“I think we need to look at how do we prevent this from happening again,” Lorraine said. “It’s one thing for us to keep plugging the hole in the boat, but at some point we need to figure out where we’re hitting the rock that’s putting the hole in the boat. That’s the $258 billion question, what are we doing to prevent it?”
Lorraine encouraged all veterans who had toxic exposure, even those who are being treated for related illnesses, to register at https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/burnpits/. The registry also covers exposure to sand, dust and particulate matter; general air pollution common in certain countries; and fuel, aircraft exhaust and smoke from oil well fires.
Lorraine, who was exposed to oil well smoke in Kuwait and to burn pits in other countries and has developed squamous cell cancer and respiratory issues, said there may be compensation available down the line for veterans who were disabled due to exposure to chemicals. If nothing else, veterans should make sure to get the best treatment available.
Read More: PACT Act will help provide medical care for veterans, but VA needs to speedily