<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655399218296,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000016b-0e59-daea-a7ff-0f5fee2e0002","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655399218296,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000016b-0e59-daea-a7ff-0f5fee2e0002","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_53335662", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1018051"} }); rn","_id":"00000181-6d7b-ddb6-a5eb-6d7b776e0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedThe Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation that would expand veterans’ healthcare with a primary focus on victims who have suffered from the burn pits that were created in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lawmakers passed the legislation Thursday, the Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022, months after the leaders of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee announced a bipartisan agreement to move forward. The bill will now head to the House, and if it’s passed there, it will then go to the president’s desk.
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The passage of the legislation represents the culmination of years of protests and advocacy on behalf of nonprofit organizations, victims, and allies. The service members suffering from the effects of burn pits have been compared to those a half-century ago who faced Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
If it becomes law, the proposal will expand VA healthcare eligibility for post-9/11 combat veterans, 3.5 million of which were exposed to toxins, create a framework for the establishment of future similar services, strengthen federal research on toxic exposure, improve the VA’s resources and expand related conditions to the VA’s list of service presumptions.
Sen. John Tester (D-MT) told reporters after the vote, which was 84-14, that he was told the House could vote on their version of the bill as soon as next week. He also said veterans could start to see the impacts of the legislation, in some ways, as soon as it’s signed into law, while other features will take time to implement.
“This bill will provide expanded access to health care and disability benefits for veterans harmed by certain toxic exposures, whether in the jungles of Vietnam or the mountains of Afghanistan,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “It will also let the Department of Veterans Affairs move more quickly and comprehensively in the future to determine if illnesses are related to military service, and it will offer critical support to survivors who were harmed by exposures, including from water contamination at Camp LeJeune. Importantly, the bill includes the tools and resources to ensure that the VA can effectively implement it.”
Susan Zeier, the mother-in-law of Sgt. Heath Robinson, the deceased service member whose name is where the bill got its name, spoke alongside the lawmakers responsible for the legislation. She started wearing her son-in-law’s Army jacket in 2018 and said she would finally take it off when this comprehensive veterans healthcare.
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“So I’ve been wearing this since about summer of 2018, and today with this bill passing the Senate, I think it’s time to retire it,” she said. “I no longer have to carry that on my shoulders while I’m advocating for all the other veterans out there who are sick and dying. And we aren’t concerned that this bill is going to pass the House because we know it will, so I’m considering that done today.”
Jon Stewart, the comedian and veterans advocate, added, “This doesn’t solve anybody’s problem. This just removes the burden from their fight that never should have been there in the first place. And I’m incredibly just excited to see what’s next for these groups.”
