The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) encouraged the U.S.
House of Representatives’ Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to expand healthcare
access for veterans exposed to hazardous chemicals, and to better support
research into service-connected Parkinson’s disease.
Recently, the committee hosted a roundtable discussion about
healthcare costs for veterans exposed to certain substances during their
service, such as garbage burn pits, warfare chemicals, jet fuel, and cleaning
solvents.
Committee members heard from community activists and
advocates, including those with the MJFF, who called for a change in how U.S.
veterans with health problems as a result of their service are treated.
“We are a country that purports to love its veterans — we
support the troops, we put on our flag pins, we stand, veterans get discounts
at Denny’s … but when a veteran is sick and dying due to the service they gave
to this country, and they come back and are put under scrutiny … in a case
concerning their own health care and lives? It’s unacceptable,” Jon Stewart, a
veterans’ activist and television personality, said in an MJFF press release.
In a letter sent to Veterans’ Affairs committee Chairman
Mark Takano (D-California), the MJFF explained that soldiers may experience
physical or psychological stress, head trauma, severe brain injury, or be
exposed to substances known or suspected to trigger Parkinson’s disease.
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