HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS CONDUCTS HEARING ON THE

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For Immediate Release: September 23, 2020

Washington, D.C.

RE:  HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS CONDUCTS HEARING ON THE  AFFECTS OF OPEN-AIR BURN PITS AND VA’s HANDLING OF CLAIMS

The hearing today highlighted several of the glaring chasms that remain between the DoD, the VA and the veteran community; regarding those agencies handling of toxic chemical exposures. 

This hearing comes three (3) years after the first Burn Pit hearing, (June 2017). While some of the faces have changed, the responses by VA have not. VA continues to cite a “lack of science” as its reason for denying veterans the benefits and services they earned and now hangs their hat on the latest report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine which concludes that same stanza. NASEM did not use any of the DoD records (we have them…they are publicly available) that go back to 2003 in both theaters or any of the “non-VA” science readily available. 

Congresswoman Elaine Luria kicked off the hearing by questioning VA as to why they continue to rest of cherry-picked, internal science, rather than utilizing commonly available, peer-reviewed science to support veterans claims for benefits and services. Dr. Raul Ruiz (D-CA) succinctly pointed out, VA still conveniently ignores empirical evidence that the United States has built its environmental laws on. Congressman Gus Bilirakis once again enjoined VA to look at all the available science, (not just their own) for the keys to correlations between exposures and illnesses. 

For nearly 2 decades, the Department of Defense has permitted the use of open-air pits as its only method of waste disposal for its combat operations in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. In 2009, after reports of toxic chemicals being emitted from these burn pits came to light, the DoD ordered that incinerators replace the open-air pits. We would later discover in 2013, that those costly incinerators were never put into operation. 

That edict did not address the effects on service members that were surfacing in significant numbers. In April 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs issued the “Environmental Training Letter 10-03”. This policy did address how the VA would handle veterans’ health concerns and potential claims for benefits. In April 2014, the VA instituted a “Burn Pit Registry, which as of today has over 214,000 veterans’ registered.

Yet, when a VA representative was asked how many burn pit claims the VA had processed, the VA proudly proclaimed that they have processed 12,000 burn pit related claims, (in ten (10) YEARS since their policy went into place and one must assume that those claims were by veterans who are on the Registry). That is an average of 1,200 burn pit related claims PER YEAR. The VA stated that they have approved 2,828 burn pit claims. That is .01% of the total number of veterans on the Registry! 

What VA does not state is that they only process burn pit claims if the veteran uses that very language on the claim, which contradicts their policy requirements. This is from the agency who touts that they are processing over 1 million claims a year; and having a “captive audience” of veteran’s who have registered already with them; this is pure evidence of a catastrophic failure of policy and leadership. 

There are still some who believe we still need more research into the effects of toxic chemical exposures on our service members. (They are not satisfied with the decades of identical research done by multiple federal agencies on these exposures). The DoD and VA firmly hold this position as well. 

For those of us who are still around, it is sickening that we are STILL hearing this from VA. For those who have passed, it is a slap in the faces of their families. 

The onus is on Congress now to pass legislation, removing VA’s authority to “grant” presumptive status to us for toxic exposures. They KNOW why we are sick and dying and VA’s insistence on continuing what now is seen as a malicious denial of reality…we can only quote Congressman Ruiz, “If you jump out of an airplane without a parachute, you are going to die when you hit the ground” to make VA understand the basic science of this.

Fortunately for those who are suffering from those exposures; most legislators are seeing the VA’s lack of response for what it is; round two of the decades long stall tactic that the agency exhibited with Vietnam era veterans and their claims about Agent Orange exposures…”Delay, Deny, Until You Die”.

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For questions or comments, contact:

YN1 Lauren Price USN, (Ret.)

Founder / Managing Director

Veteran Warriors

727.247.8141 ext: 6

media@veteran-warriors.org 

www.veteran-warriors.org