Slotkin, Meijer introduce bill to aid veterans exposed to toxic burn pits

Iraq burn pit

Senior Airman Frances Gavalis, 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron equipment manager from Kirtland Air Force Base, tosses unserviceable uniform items into a burn pit on March 10, 2008 near Balad, Iraq.U.S. Air Force

WASHINGTON, DC — Lawmakers from Michigan have introduced a bill in Congress to help veterans who breathed toxic smoke while serving overseas receive health care benefits without having to jump through hoops to prove exposure.

U.S. Reps. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, and Peter Meijer, R-Grand Rapids, introduced the Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act of 2021 in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, April 8, according to their offices.

The bill’s objective is to shift the burden of proof away from sickened veterans who have struggled to document their exposure to toxic waste pits suspected to have caused long-term health problems, according to Meijer and Slotkin.

Burn pits are disposal areas where various sanitary and hazardous wastes were incinerated at combat outposts. Chemicals and other pollutants in the waste created toxic smoke that many veterans have blamed for causing chronic diseases after returning home.

Slotkin and Meijer’s bill would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to perform a full medical examination to determine if a veteran’s exposure to open-air burn pits in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere are linked to a particular ailment.

The bill has a companion in the U.S. Senate, introduced in February by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-West Va., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. The two are among several bills seeking similar ends.

Meijer and Slotkin both formerly served in Iraq. Meijer is a veteran who was deployed there for a tour in 2010 as an Army Reserves intelligence officer. Slotkin served three tours in Iraq as a Middle East militia expert with the Central Intelligence Agency.

“Too many veterans in Michigan and across the country need specialized care due to toxic exposure, and too many of them are having to fight the VA at the same moment they are fighting for their lives,” said Slotkin. “As someone who lived close to a burn pit in each of my three tours in Iraq, I know this is an important first step in cutting through red tape and getting veterans care for the conditions caused by toxic exposure.”

Meijer called the issue an “urgent moral obligation”

“There are veterans across the country who are struggling with serious health conditions resulting from their exposure to burn pits during their service, yet bureaucratic obstacles have prevented them from receiving the care they need and deserve,” Meijer said. “Waiting even one day for treatment of this toxic exposure is too long, and our veterans deserve better. This bill offers a critical first step to ensure service members exposed to toxic hazards receive the care they have earned, and I am proud to join my colleague Rep. Slotkin in these efforts.”

The Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act was announced with support from veteran advocacy groups, including Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA) and the Wounded Warrior Project.

“Our nation has a solemn duty to care for those suffering long-term, negative health effects from toxic exposure to open air burn pits during their military service,” said DAV National Commander Stephen Whitehead.

Slotkin said past delays in presumptive health benefits for veterans exposed to Agent Orange, and a lack of similar benefits for veterans exposed to PFAS contamination for decades at many installations, shows the need for “landmark legislation on toxic exposure.”

She is also co-sponsoring other similar bills, including the Conceding Our Veterans’ Exposures Now and Necessitating Training Act of 2021 and the Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2021. Both are aimed at removing hurdles for veterans exposed to burn pits who are navigating the VA health care system.

Past efforts to enable benefits through presumptive exposure recognition have stalled in Congress. The VA has argued the science around disease causation is unsettled. An estimated 3.5 million veterans have been exposed to burn pits, according to a 2015 VA report. The department has a burn pit data collection registry with more than 230,000 registrations.

In Michigan, veterans exposed to drinking water contaminated with PFAS and chlorinated solvents at installations like the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda have also struggled to get health care and disability benefits because the VA does not recognize a “service connection” between well-documented pollution and their illnesses.

Related stories:

Michigan vets face uphill battle proving toxic exposure

Wurtsmith base water may have caused veteran cancers

‘We’ve been betrayed:’ Vets blame base water for disease

Veterans ‘likely’ drank PFAS at Wurtsmith air base

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.