Bill seeks access to VA health care for veterans exposed to toxins

WASHINGTON — Former talk show host Jon Stewart joined with fellow 9/11 first responder advocates John Feal and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Tuesday to launch a new campaign to pass legislations to grant access to VA health care for veterans harmed by the U.S. military’s toxic burn pits.

"And so the fight starts again," Stewart said as he announced that the group that spent 15 years to win lawmakers’ approval of funds for care and to compensate 9/11 first responders ailing and dying from working at toxic Ground Zero would now battle for veterans sick from burn pits.

"The only difference between the first responders at Ground Zero who are sick and dying from toxic exposure is that that was caused by a terrorist attack on our country," Stewart said at a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol building.

Stewart, former host of "The Daily Show" on the Comedy Central, will use his celebrity to shine a light on burn-pit-related illnesses such as respiratory ailments and cancers that could affect the 3.5 million service members who served in the global war on terror.

Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill to remove the burden of proof for a connection between health issues and burn pits for veterans who can show they served in the 33 countries or received a service medal for the global war on terror or the Gulf War.

"This is the same battle Vietnam veterans had to bring to fight for coverage because of Agent Orange," she said, noting Congress in 1991 overrode the VA and gave Vietnam veterans presumptive coverage for Agent Orange-related ailments.

Stewart, Feal and Gillibrand will join a movement that already has been underway for more than a decade and includes a coalition of veterans' groups including the American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America and other groups.

"It’s been over a decade that we've been walking the halls of Congress, only to be told to go build systemic momentum. Well, here we are today, and this is our systemic momentum," said Denise Torres, executive director of the grassroots group Burn Pits 360, a member of the coalition.

Torres founded the group with her husband, Le Roy Torres, who suffers from constrictive bronchiolitis and toxic brain injury after being exposed to burn pits in 2007 and 2008 in Iraq.

The Veterans Affairs downplays the threat posed by burn pits, posting on its website: "At this time, research does not show evidence of long-term health problems from exposure to burn pits."

On Friday, the National Association of Science published a review of the health effects of exposure to burn pits but found no conclusive connection for lack of data.

"When there is no data available, but there's a plausible explanation and veterans are suffering, we have to give veterans the benefit of doubt," said former VA Director David Shulkin. "And that's why we need to work with Congress … to get this situation fixed for our veterans."

Stewart warned that it takes time and persistence to get the attention of lawmakers — a point underscored by House Republicans who announced their fall agenda nearby on the House steps and then walked by the veterans without stopping to talk.