WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill that would increase health care and disability benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burns won final approval in the Senate on Tuesday, ending a brief impasse over the measure that infuriated advocates and inspired some to camp outside the Capitol .
The Senate approved the bill by an 86-11 vote. It now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. Biden described the legislation as the largest expansion of benefits for service-connected health problems in 30 years and the largest single bill ever to target burn exposure.
“I look forward to signing this bill so that veterans and their families and caregivers affected by toxic exposures can finally receive the benefits and comprehensive health care they have earned and deserve,” Biden said.
The Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation back in June, but a revision was needed to make a technical correction. That process was derailed when Republicans made a late attempt to change another aspect of the bill last week and blocked it from moving forward.
The abrupt delay outraged veterans’ groups and advocates, including comedian Jon Stewart. It also put GOP senators in the awkward position of delaying a top legislative priority for service organizations this session of Congress.
A group of veterans and their families camped out at the Capitol after that vote. They had braved thunderstorms and Washington’s notorious summer humidity, but were in the galleries as senators voted.
“You can go home knowing the good and great thing you have done and accomplished for the United States of America,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, told them.
The legislation expands access to health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs for millions who served near burn pits. It also directs the VA to assume that certain respiratory diseases and cancers are linked to burn exposure, allowing veterans to receive disability payments to compensate for their injury without having to prove that the disease was a result from their service.
Approximately 70% of burn exposure disability claims are denied by the VA due to a lack of evidence, scientific data, and information from the Department of Defense.
The military uses incineration pits to dispose of such things as chemicals, cans, tires, plastics, and medical and human waste.
Hundreds of thousands of Vietnam War veterans and survivors will also benefit from the legislation. The bill adds hypertension, or high blood pressure, as a presumptive disease associated with exposure to Agent Orange.
The Congressional Budget Office predicts that about 600,000 of Vietnam’s 1.6 million living vets will be eligible for increased compensation, although only about half will have diagnoses severe enough to warrant more compensation.
Also, veterans who served in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Guam, American Samoa and Johnston Atoll will be presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange. That’s 50,000 more veterans and survivors of deceased veterans who will receive compensation for illnesses believed to have been caused by their exposure to the herbicide, CBO projected.
The bill also authorizes 31 major VA medical health clinics and research facilities in 19 states.
The bill is projected to increase the federal deficit by about $277 billion over 10 years.
The bill is a years-long effort started by veterans and their families who view incineration pits used in Iraq and Afghanistan as responsible for respiratory problems and other illnesses experienced by veterans after returning home. It is named after Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson of Ohio, who died in 2020 of cancer that he attributed to prolonged exposure to burn pits. His widow, Danielle Robinson, was first lady Jill Biden’s guest at the president’s State of the Union address earlier this year.
Stewart, the former host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” has also brought more exposure to the illnesses facing veterans. He was also in the gallery watching Tuesday’s vote. He was crying and holding his head in his hand as the final vote began.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a situation where people who have already given so much had to fight so hard to get so little,” he said after the vote. “And I hope we learn a lesson.”
The House was the first to act on fuel pit legislation. An earlier version approved by the House in March was expected to increase spending by more than $320 billion over 10 years, but senators cut some of the costs early on by phasing in certain benefit improvements. They also added staffing funds to help the VA cope with an expected increase in demand for health care and an increase in disability claims.
Some GOP senators are still concerned that the bill will increase delays at the VA because of increased demand for veterans seeking care or disability benefits.
“What we’ve learned is that the VA can’t deliver what’s been promised because it doesn’t have the capacity to handle the increase,” said Sen. Marcia Blackburn, R-Tenn.
Sens. John Tester, D-Mont., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., led the effort to pass the bill in the Senate. After the passage, Tester told reporters he got a call from Biden, who thanked him for “taking a big weight” off his shoulder.
For Biden, the issue is very personal. He raised the possibility that burn pits in Iraq were responsible for his son Bo’s death.
“We don’t know for sure if a burn pit was the cause of his brain cancer or the illnesses of so many of our soldiers,” Biden said in his State of the Union address. “But I’m determined to find out everything we can.”
Moran said when the bill didn’t pass last week, he was disappointed, but remembered the strength of the protesters who sat outside in the sweltering heat for days.
“Thank you to the United States Senate for demonstrating that when there is a good thing and a good cause, this place still works,” Moran said.
___
Associated Press staff writer Farnoosh Amiri contributed to this report.
Add Comment