burn pits

What is the legacy of burn pits? For some Iraqis, it's a lifetime of problems

5:00am August 12, 2022

The PACT Act provides new access to services for American veterans struggling with the health effects of exposure to burn pits. But in Iraq, civilians who were exposed are still on their own.

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) looks on Tuesday as Susan Zeier, mother-in-law of the late Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson, hugs Rosie Torres, wife of veteran Le Roy Torres, who suffers from illnesses related to his exposure to burn pits in

Politics & Government

The Senate passes help for veterans exposed to toxins, after a reversal drew fury

10:05pm August 02, 2022

by NPR Staff

The bill no longer would force generations of veterans to prove that their illness was caused by toxic exposures suffered in the military in order to get VA coverage.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others attend a news conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday, the day after Senate Republicans blocked a procedural vote to advance PACT Act.

The Senate passed a bill to help sick veterans. Then 25 Republicans reversed course

3:00pm July 29, 2022

by Quil Lawrence

Veterans groups are slamming GOP senators for blocking a bill that would have given health care and benefits to veterans affected by from toxic chemicals and burn pits in wars dating back to Vietnam.

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Rafael Rivera's tattoo of an American Flag in the shape of Long Island, with a banner from John 15:13.

Sick veterans demand medical coverage for illnesses caused by burn pits

5:30am March 09, 2022

by Quil Lawrence

President Biden is urging Congress to send a burn-pits bill to his desk.

In this April 28, 2011, photo, an Afghan national army pickup truck passes parked U.S. armored military vehicles as smoke rises from a fire in a trash burn pit at Forward Operating Base Caferetta Nawzad, Helmand province south of Kabul, Afghanistan.

House to vote on bill to help veterans exposed to burn pits

4:11am March 03, 2022

by The Associated Press

The bill would open up federal health care benefits to millions of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service.

Comedian, writer and veterans advocate Jon Stewart speaks at a press conference on "The Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2020" at the House Triangle in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

National

Jon Stewart Uses His Celebrity To Bring Attention To Vets Exposed To Burn Pits

4:00pm September 16, 2020

by Quil Lawrence

The comedian and activist is helping to launch a new campaign to fight for war veterans who say they are sick because of exposure to burn pits and other toxins in Afghanistan and Iraq.

U.S. soldiers traverse fields on the way to conducting house-to- house searches in 2007 in Mukhisa, Iraq.

National

Veterans Claiming Illness From Burn Pits Lose Court Fight

7:52am January 16, 2019

by Quil Lawrence

Hundreds of veterans sued military contractor KBR Inc., alleging toxic smoke from burn pits at military bases made them ill. A federal appellate court said compensation must come from Congress.

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