The Senate overwhelmingly handed a invoice on Thursday that enhances advantages for veterans uncovered to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, increasing their alternatives to acquire free medical care and presuming that sure sicknesses and cancers have been linked to their publicity throughout their navy service.
The laws handed 84 to 14 with robust bipartisan help, and can return to the Home for a remaining vote.
"If we will not get one thing finished in a bipartisan approach to assist our veterans nation, then gee whiz, one thing's the matter within the nation, however we did," Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer stated in a press convention Thursday, applauding his colleagues who helped the invoice go the Senate chamber.
"It used to simply burn my rump that veterans in New York and elsewhere who knew they have been uncovered to those poisonous supplies needed to struggle the VA to get assist, as a substitute of the VA serving to them," Schumer added.
Veteran advocacy teams have urged Congress to do extra to help veterans affected by burn pit publicity, and President Biden has instructed his late son Beau was affected by his publicity to burn pits. Beau Biden died of mind most cancers in 2015. Whereas the president has stated he is not sure a burn pit brought on his son's most cancers, he pledged throughout his State of the Union deal with earlier this yr to "discover out all the pieces we will."
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York did not shrink back from connecting burn pits to cancers on Thursday.
"These are advantages that these women and men earned," Gillibrand stated. "They earned it via their blood, sweat and tears, via their extraordinary efforts for this nation. And little did they know that the burn pits dug up across the bases the place they served have been emitting horrible toxins, which brought on a few of the worst cancers, from mind most cancers to throat most cancers to lung most cancers to abdomen most cancers. And now they want our assist."
Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated in a press release after the Senate vote that the Home "will now transfer swiftly to take up this laws and ship it to President Biden's desk for his signature."
Burn pits have been generally used to destroy waste collected at navy bases. In 2019, a Pentagon report stated there have been 9 energetic navy burn pits within the Center East as of 2008, and a 2015 Pentagon inspector normal report known as it "indefensible" that U.S. navy members have been put in danger by publicity to them.
— Melissa Quinn contributed to this report