Political Quotes

“I want to thank the ranking member and the chairman for their support of my efforts to help veterans and servicemembers who have been exposed to burn pits. We have a responsibility to protect the health of our men and women in uniform and veterans from the harmful health effects of exposure to burn pits, and we can start to do so by, first, stopping our troops' exposure to these dangerous burn pits out on the battlefield; second, conducting education and public health outreach to veterans and their doctors; and third, getting our veterans and servicemembers the medical treatment they need quickly and ensuring it is covered by the VA or the DOD. Earlier, we discussed my amendment that will address step one and finally put an end to the use of dangerous burn pits on the battlefield. My second amendment will tackle step two, requiring the Department of Defense to conduct an annual education and outreach campaign to veterans exposed to burn pits and who are qualified to enroll in the burn pits registry. This will improve our understanding of the different health effects of exposure to burn pits and help raise awareness for our veterans to be on the lookout for subtle changes in their health that could be early signs of cancer. Mr. Chair, again, I thank the committee for their support of this amendment.”