WASHINGTON, DC — Veterans exposed to noxious fumes and other toxic chemicals near burns pits while stationed overseas are poised to receive expanded health care and disability benefits under legislation that cleared the U.S. House of Representatives this week.
On Wednesday, July 13, the House passed the “Honoring our PACT Act,” which would expand access to specialized medical care for military veterans who served around toxic burn pits without making them jump through hoops to prove their illnesses is linked to that exposure.
The bill, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, cleared the U.S. Senate in June but must go back to that chamber briefly due to a technical amendment made by the House before heading to President Joe Biden, who has said he’s eager to sign it into law.
“This is one of the most important pieces of legislation I’ve worked on in three and a half years in Congress,” said Slotkin, who serves on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. She introduced provisions folded into the PACT Act alongside Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Grand Rapids, last spring.
“Burn pits are the Agent Orange of the 9/11 generation of veterans, and this landmark bill on toxic exposure will help more than 3.5 million more American veterans access the treatment and benefits they earned during their service,” said Slotkin. “As a CIA officer who lived near burn pits on three tours in Iraq, and as an Army wife, this issue has always been deeply personal for me.”
Burn pits are disposal areas where various sanitary and hazardous wastes were incinerated at combat outposts. Chemicals and other pollutants in the waste created toxic smoke that many veterans have blamed for causing chronic diseases after returning home.
The bill creates a presumptive “service connection” for veterans who developed any of 23 different lung diseases and cancers after being exposed to burn pits while stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. That presumption expands eligibility for health care and benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the bill also extends the grace period by which veterans who served near burn pits can get medical care through the VA.
The bill would also expand Agent Orange exposure benefits to Vietnam War veterans who served in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia; and result in new health studies on health trends and the prevalence of cancer among veterans.
Currently, more than 70 percent of disability claims related to burn pit exposure are denied by the VA due to lack of evidence and information from the Department of Defense.
Past efforts to enable benefits through presumptive recognition have stalled in Congress. An estimated 3.5 million veterans have been exposed to burn pits, according to a 2015 VA report. The department has a burn pit data collection registry with more than 230,000 registrations.
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. An earlier version the House approved in March cost more than $320 billion over 10 years, but senators trimmed some of the costs early on by phasing in certain benefit enhancements.
Those changes brought on board more House Republicans. The bill passed the House this week in a 342-88 vote. Michigan Republicans Jack Bergman, Lisa McClain, and Fred Upton joined Meijer and the state’s entire Democratic Congressional delegation in voting for the bill. Reps. Tim Walberg, John Moolenaar and Bill Huizenga voted against the bill.
An earlier version of the bill would also have established a registry of armed service members exposed to toxic PFAS chemicals released through the military’s longtime use of fluorinated AFFF firefighting foam.
In Michigan, veterans exposed to drinking water contaminated with PFAS and chlorinated solvents at installations like the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda have also struggled to get health care and disability…
Read More: U.S. House passes bill to aid veterans exposed to toxic burn pits