WASHINGTON, D.C. ― At two events Tuesday on Capitol Hill,
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) continued his push to improve care for veterans
affected by exposure to toxic fumes from burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan:
during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military
Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies, and at the 2019
Congressional Burn Pits Briefing.
During the hearing, Udall questioned Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Robert Wilkie on his commitment to continuing burn pit exposure
research and urged Wilkie to recognize burn pit exposure as a presumed
service-connected condition, a standard that would sufficiently acknowledge the
negative effects of burn pits and would make it easier for veterans to receive
care.
“Last year’s
appropriation of $27 million supports a partnership between the VA and
[Department of Energy] for Big Data Science. And much of the work is being done
by researchers at New Mexico’s own Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories.
I would encourage you to continue and increase your work with the national
labs. Do you support making the Big Data Science program an annual
appropriation? To expand the program to benefit more veterans? For instance,
expand data analysis of veterans who were exposed to burn pits?,” Udall asked
Wilkie.
Wilkie responded that he “would not see what happened to
veterans from Vietnam and Agent Orange happen again,” referring to the veterans
exposed to Agent Orange who had to endure decades of delay before finally
receiving VA care and benefits. Wilkie committed to “doing everything [VA] can
so we don’t see a repeat of what happened with Agent Orange.”
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