WASHINGTON,
DC – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have
announced that their bipartisan legislation to help veterans who have
been exposed to toxic burn pits has passed the Senate as part of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018.
The
Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act would create a center of
excellence within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to better
understand the health effects associated with burn pits and treat
veterans who become sick after exposure.
The
Press did a story last March on a 36-year-old Air National Guard
member, Amie Muller, who died of pancreatic cancer she and her family
attributed to exposure to toxic burn pits during two tours in Iraq. Her
mother-in-law, Sandy Muller, lives in Mahtomedi.
Klobuchar
testified before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee last year to
discuss the need to dedicate staff and resources to exposure diagnosis,
treatment, and rehabilitation of health conditions stemming from
exposure to burn pits.
“It
took the government years after the Vietnam War to recognize that there
was a link between Agent Orange and the devastating health effects on
our soldiers. We can’t let history repeat itself — burn pits can’t
become today’s Agent Orange,” Klobuchar said. “That’s why passing this
bipartisan bill to support our nation’s heroes, who served in Iraq and
Afghanistan, along with their families, has remained one of my top
priorities.”
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