Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, since 9/11, an estimated 3.7 million veterans and servicemembers may have been exposed to burn pits, a common method of disposing of waste during war. Now, these burn pits include things like human waste, batteries, plastic, damaged equipment all being dumped into a giant pit, doused with jet fuel, and torched. Much of the waste burned in these pits is toxic and it gets into our troops' eyes, mouth, throat, and lungs. I know this is true, because I was there and I breathed these toxins in every day. These burn pits aren't put somewhere very far away from where our troops spend their time. They are usually right next to where they live, work, eat, and sleep. Many burn day and night, some burning around the clock, 7 days a week. Exposure to burn pits can produce serious and potentially life- threatening health effects, including neurological disorders, rare forms of cancer, lung diseases, and more. Recently, a widow named Jill Wilkins reached out to my office to share her story. She told me about her husband, United States Air Force Reserves Major Kevin Wilkins, who was an RN and who deployed to Iraq in the summer of 2006. After prolonged exposure to the toxic chemicals from burn pits, when he came home, he died from a brain tumor in April of 2008. He was only 51 years old, leaving behind his wife, Jill, to take care of their two children by herself.…”