Veterans and their families were increasingly angered by Republican politicians on Tuesday over a stalled bill to provide relief to those exposed to toxic smoke from US military charcoal pits in Afghanistan and Iraq.
spoke to former service members and their families. They urged senators to quickly pass the cremation pit bill, and some called for even tougher measures to prevent military personnel from having to breathe toxic fumes from incinerated in the future.
The bill initially passed the 100-member Senate with broad, bipartisan support, but 25 Republicans withdrew their support in a procedural vote Wednesday, ostensibly over funding, leaving it short of five votes from the 60 needed to pass it.
Senators debated an amendment Tuesday and moved toward a vote. John Stewart, a famous comedian, has gathered with veterans in the Capitol and urged Republicans to hurry up and “do the right thing.”
June Heston, whose husband Brigadier General Mike Heston died in 2018 after a nearly two-year battle with a rare pancreatic cancer, called the reversal “upsetting” and slammed Republicans for “delaying health care and benefits for veterans and their families.”
Brigadier General Mike Heston died in 2018 after inhaling smoke from fire pits while on duty in Afghanistan after a nearly two-year battle with a rare pancreatic cancer
Since the death of her husband Brigadier General Mike Heston in 2018, widow June Heston has worked to ensure other ailing burn pit veterans get the help they need and wants the military to do more to clean up its waste disposal systems in war zones
A US military equipment manager throws discarded uniforms into a fire pit at Balad Air Base in Balad, Iraq, in 2008. Toxic fumes have been linked to cancer, but ailing veterans struggle to get the support they need
“If any of their spouses, children, family members, loved ones or friends were in this situation, they would vote differently,” Heston told from her home in Vermont.
“They put money above people’s lives and that’s not okay.”
If the law goes into effect, the multibillion-dollar law would benefit nearly 3.5 million veterans who contracted cancer and other diseases after being exposed to the fumes of huge open fire pits — some the size of a football field.
They set fire to everything from tires to batteries, explosives, human excrement and chemicals.
Troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq suffered from deadly respiratory diseases and rare cancers after inhaling the fumes, but were often denied cover or faced lengthy, costly litigation to prove their eligibility.
Joe Kauffman, a Navy veteran, also wants more support for veterans who inhaled deadly smoke on foreign bases up until the mid-2010s. About 80 percent of disability requests related to cremation pits have been denied by the Veterans Administration.
Joe Kauffman used dangerous burn pits to burn tires and other debris while serving as a Marine in Iraq. He now fights as an officer with the Disabled American Veterans Group
Former Marine Joe Kauffman, 37, fears he could develop an illness in the next few years from breathing toxic fumes in fire pits in Iraq and wants the government to take care of his family if he falls ill
The 37-year-old says he “didn’t think anything of it” when, as a young Marine, he burned tires, diesel fuel and other unwanted equipment in a pit at Al Taqaddum Air Force Base, west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. in 2008.
“We weren’t wearing protective gear, nobody was the wiser,” he told .
But Kauffman has since learned of a growing number of service workers — some of whom were close to him — who developed asthma, other respiratory problems and even cancer from inhaling toxic fumes in mines in war zones.
That’s a major worry for the married Pennsylvania father of two.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen years from now,” he said.
Passing the Honor Our PACT law, which expands support for those affected, would be “peace of mind knowing your family is being taken care of,” said Kauffman, now campaign manager for Disabled American Veterans (DAV).
Jon Stewart, a famous comedian, joined veterans, military personnel and attorneys in Washington to urge Republicans to support millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic substances while serving abroad
The incinerator debate is understood to be personal to President Joe Biden, whose late son Beau Biden served abroad near incinerator pits that released toxins and then died of a brain tumor in 2015
spoke to other veterans and ex-military organizations, DAV, The Independence Fund and The Veterans of Foreign Wars, all of whom called on the politicians to deliver.
David Maxwell, a 30-year veteran of the Army Special Forces, said the scandal was part of a broader story of poor support for soldiers sickened by the Vietnam War-era herbicide Agent Orange or Gulf War Syndrome from the 1990-1991 campaign .
“There’s an ongoing pattern in how willing politicians are to delay these serious medical issues for many veterans,” Maxwell said.
David Maxwell, a 30-year army veteran, is now a North Korea expert at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a think tank
“Congress needs to take a good look at itself and its support for veterans.”
Dennis Downey, a 29-year special forces veteran, says the problem is even bigger. His research into US military operations around the world is piecing together worrying evidence of cases of “some very strange types of cancer,” he said.
It’s a work in progress, but Downey says troops are exposed to dangerous chemicals from metals in bullets and other everyday military items that gradually build up, leading to inflammation and an increased risk of cancer.
Heston says she expects that to happen but says she won’t stop there. Giving sick veterans the care and money they need isn’t enough, as uniformed Americans still breathe toxic fumes in global hotspots.
“We still have work to do to ensure that they still use incinerator pits to dispose of garbage,” she said, urging the generals to build next-generation, high-tech incinerators that eliminate waste, limit exhaust fumes, and generate energy at the same time Time.
The focus on burn pits and poor support for veterans comes at a difficult time for the US military, which is struggling to attract new recruits and is facing a shortage of about 10,000 troops this year and bigger problems in the future.
Research this month by the Military Family Advisory Network (MFAN) found that the number of military personnel who would advise others to recruit fell nearly 12 points to 62.9 percent between 2019 and 2021.
Three-quarters of those surveyed were in debt, more than half couldn’t save, 61 percent were struggling to pay rent, and a pesky 17 percent said they were so short on cash they couldn’t always get enough food on the table.
Army chiefs have described “unprecedented challenges” in recruiting new recruits, leading to a shortage of about 10,000 troops this year and greater problems in the future. Pictured: Army recruiters at a careers fair in Michigan
