Sherrod Brown

05/25/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/25/2022 13:23

Brown Pushing for Senate Vote on Historic Legislation Expanding Benefits for Veterans Exposed to Toxic Burn Pits

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) hosted a news conference call to discuss the bipartisan deal reached by members of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee on a legislative package to deliver comprehensive relief to all generations of veterans who have suffered due to toxic exposure, for the first time in the nation's history. Brown is the longest-serving Ohioan on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and is pushing for an immediate Senate vote on the bipartisan package, which includes provisions Brown has long fought for.
The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 is named in honor of Central Ohio veteran Heath Robinson, who deployed to Kosovo and Iraq with the Ohio National Guard, and passed away in 2020 from cancer as a result of toxic exposure during his military service.
"This bipartisan bill would guarantee that all veterans, of all generations, who suffer because of toxic exposure will get the VA benefits they earned, for the first time in our country's history," said Brown. "Providing health care and benefits for veterans who suffer from toxic exposure is a cost of going to war, and I'm committed to getting these veterans the care they need and benefits they deserve, after sacrificing so much for our country."
Brown was joined on the call by Andrea Neutzling, an Ohio U.S. Army veteran who developed a rare, incurable lung disease after exposure to burn pits while deployed for one year in Iraq in 2005.
"We were killed overseas, our bodies just don't know it yet," said Andrea Neutzling, of Meigs County. "The future generation is watching and seeing how Congress treats veterans, they need to do better for veterans, or the future generations grow up to decide that they do not want to join the military and we will no longer be an all volunteer force."
  • Expand VA health care eligibility to Post-9/11 combat veterans, which includes more than 3.5 million toxic-exposed veterans;
  • Create a framework for the establishment of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure;
  • Add 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related conditions to VA's list of service presumptions, including hypertension;
  • Expand presumptions related to Agent Orange exposure;
    • Includes Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Guam, American Samoa, and Johnston Atoll as locations for Agent Orange exposure;
  • Strengthen federal research on toxic exposure;
  • Improve VA's resources and training for toxic-exposed veterans; and
  • Set VA and veterans up for success by investing in:
    • VA claims processing;
    • VA's workforce; and
    • VA health care facilities.

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