WASHINGTON — Thursday’s House passage of a bill would significantly increase health care services as well as disability benefits for veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits while in Iraq or Afghanistan was a victory.
This measure is supported by the major veterans groups of the country and highlights the ongoing cost to war years after fighting has ended. Although the fate of the bill is not known in the Senate, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that if it becomes law, it will increase spending by more $300 billion over the next ten years.
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Speaker, stated, “If we are not willing to pay war’s price, we shouldn’t go.”
The bill was passed by a vote 256 to174, with 34 Republicans voting in support.
The bill would allow millions of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who were exposed to toxic substances in their service to receive health care at the Department of Veterans Affairs, even if they do not have a service-connected disability.
The bill would also provide increased or new disability benefits for thousands of veterans who are suffering from cancer or respiratory conditions like COPD, bronchitis, chronic obstructive lung disease or bronchitis. The VA would assume that veterans became ill from being exposed to toxic substances while serving.
According to supporters, the bill is a recognition by Congress that veterans have been exposed to toxic substances and are now suffering. The process of proving that they were exposed is too difficult for the VA.
Opponents claim that the legislation will grant disability and health benefits to many veterans who may not be eligible for military service. They expressed concern that an influx of cases could tax the already stressed VA System, causing longer wait times for medical care and processing disability claims.
On Wednesday, the House floor was witness to the political dynamics surrounding the vote as scores of Democrats from competitive swing areas spoke in support of the bill.
“This bill addresses war’s true cost and opposing it would be against our service men and women,” stated Rep. Mark Takano, a Democratic chairman of the House Commission on Veterans Affairs.
The bill was opposed by Republicans largely because it was left to Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a representative from Iowa. Miller-Meeks is a U.S. Army vet and says she has heard from veterans in Iowa who have been waiting months or even years for their benefits. She also said that the bill will only make the problem worse. Miller-Meeks also pointed out that the bill’s estimated cost is higher than the combined budgets of nine Cabinet level departments.
Miller-Meeks stated that “we are not doing right for our veterans by being financially irresponsible in the name of their veterans.”
During operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, the military used open-burn pits to dispose off tires, batteries, medical and other waste. The 2020 National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine study found that there was insufficient evidence from existing health studies to establish if exposure to burn pit emissions is linked to asthma, chronic bronchitis, and lung cancer. According to the authors, the uncertainty does not mean that there is no association; it simply means that there wasn’t enough data to draw definitive conclusions.
President Joe Biden suspects that the death of his son from brain cancer may have been linked to burn pits used during Maj. Beau Biden was a soldier in Iraq.
Biden stated Tuesday during the State-of-the-Union address, “And they return home, many of world’s fittest, most trained warriors, but never the same — headaches.
Biden stated that it is not known if a burn pit or other diseases caused his son’s brain tumor. However, he said, “But I’m committed in finding out everything we possibly can.”
The bill was supported by lawmakers who cited veterans from their respective districts who died or became ill after being exposed to burn pits repeatedly.
“This is a self inflicted DOD wound our military did to our troops, and now they’re dying as delayed casualties. We need to save lives.” This is a matter of life and death.
The House bill is not limited to Iraq and Afghanistan. It has been endorsed by the White House. The House bill also adds hypertension as a possible illness that Vietnam veterans may have contracted from exposure to the chemical herbicide Agent Orange. CBO estimates that 600,000 veterans who served in Vietnam have hypertension or high blood pressure. The severity of the condition would determine if they are eligible for higher compensation.
Biden called last year on the VA to investigate the effects of burn pits, and other airborne hazards. Biden supports expanding the list of conditions the VA would consider to be caused by toxic exposure from the burn pits.
The White House announced that soldiers who were exposed to burn pits and developed any one of the three conditions — sinusitis, rhinitis, or asthma — within a period of 10 years could be eligible for disability benefits. With nearly two dozen presumptive conditions included in the House bill, there may be more to follow over time.
This bill provides retroactive benefits for veterans whose claims for disability have been denied, as well as survivors of veterans who have died.
These sums are substantial. The CBO reported in December that Vietnam veterans who have been exposed to Agent Orange and are eligible for retroactive payments would be paid retroactively about $13,500. Survivors would receive approximately $100,000.
Retroactive payments of approximately $50,000 would be made to some 268,000 Iraqi and Afghan veterans whose claims were denied. CBO estimated that approximately 5500 survivors would be paid $160,000 on an average.
A much smaller bill was unanimously approved by the Senate that extends VA care for combat veterans. However, House Democrats claim that the Senate legislation is only a fraction of what’s needed.
