New burn pit bill for Iraq & Afghanistan war veterans

A new bill proposed in Congress would make it so veterans dealing will illnesses related to military burn pit exposure would no longer be turned away by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-CA) are backing the legislation that would provide those veterans with needed health care.

The VA maintains that exposure to fumes and carcinogens from these flaming trash piles has not been definitively linked to any long-term illnesses in veterans.

“I know they’re linked. We know that” Bilirakis said. “We’re working on proving that. But, in the meantime, our veterans should get access to healthcare — quality healthcare from the VA.”

“Those burn pits are leaving families without providers, and the people who want to send us to be exposed to those things, they have a responsibility to answer to us when we come home,” he said.

Burn pits were widely used in the mid-2000s in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The Department of Defense has been phasing out its use in recent years.

Burn Pit Lawsuit Against KBR Unsuccessful

44 veterans created separate class-action lawsuits in 2013 and filed a complaint against KBR.

Those suits were combined into a single case in Maryland, which was dismissed under a ruling that KBR received the same legal protections as the military – i.e., what is known as sovereign immunity.