Political Quotes

“I am honored to be here today with my friend, assistant Democratic leader Joe Neguse, to talk about my law, the Honoring our PACT Act. It was signed into law by President Joe Biden in August of 2022 and has since helped more than a million veterans and their survivors receive the healthcare and benefits that they have earned. In the 116th Congress, we passed the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 that helped blue water Navy veterans receive care and benefits for exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam war. These veterans waited decades for this relief. I am so glad that we could help them cut red tape and make it easier for them to receive healthcare for certain conditions, but it took way too long to get it done. After blue water Navy, we were hearing from veterans around the country about being exposed to burn pits and other toxins when they were serving our country more recently. They were experiencing serious illnesses that they thought were connected to their toxic exposure. Many of these servicemembers were directed to throw trash, plastic, and other items into burn pits, and this meant breathing in the toxic air, or they were exposed to jet fuel for long periods of time due to their job in the service. It is easy to look back and think that this was not a good idea, but they did not have a choice at that time and were following orders.…”