[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 10 (Thursday, January 17, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H704]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1415
           BURN PITS ARE AGENT ORANGE OF POST-9/11 GENERATION

  (Ms. GABBARD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. GABBARD. Madam Speaker, burn pits are the Agent Orange of post-9/
11 veterans. Over 165,000 veterans have registered their names into the 
burn pit registry, something that is voluntary, but there are millions 
more of our troops who have been exposed to these toxic burn pits 
during their deployments.
  They deserve recognition. They deserve care. And they deserve the 
services they have earned.
  So far, our government has failed to fulfill its responsibility to 
them and to recognize the toxins that they have been exposed to, just 
like what happened to our Vietnam veterans decades ago, when our 
government ignored their exposure and the ensuing illnesses that came 
from Agent Orange.
  When I was deployed to Iraq, the cloud of toxic smoke and fumes from 
the massive burn pit in our camp was a daily reality. I know the damage 
they cause. I have seen the devastating toll they have taken on my 
brothers and sisters in arms who survived combat, came home, but are 
now suffering from rare cancers, lung diseases, neurological disorders, 
and more.
  Today, my colleague and fellow veteran, Brian Mast, and I are 
reintroducing our burn pit legislation to address this travesty, joined 
by Senators Klobuchar and Sullivan, to make sure they get the treatment 
services that they earned.

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