[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 103 (Thursday, June 16, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3010-S3011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING OUR PACT ACT OF 2021

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from 
Delaware via Columbus, OH, for his comments, and I want to talk for a 
moment about what we did today in the U.S. Senate. We passed 
legislation very important to our veterans that has to do with 
expanding VA veterans' healthcare coverage but specifically addresses 
the problem of our veterans who have been exposed to burn pits--toxic 
burn pits that have resulted in terrible illnesses, including cancer 
and others.
  The legislation we passed is named the Heath Robinson PACT Act. And 
people may wonder: Well, who is Heath Robinson? Why is it named after 
him?
  Heath Robinson was from Pickerington, OH, which is a small community 
outside of Columbus, OH. He enlisted in the Ohio National Guard. He 
became a sergeant first class. He did tours of duty in Kosovo and also 
in Iraq. He was with the 285th Area Support Medical Company and was a 
two-time Ohio Army National Guard NCO of the Year in 2012 and 2013--so 
a very distinguished career in the military.
  In 2020, he died of cancer. And when you talk to the medical 
professionals, they say that his exposure to burn pits

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is what resulted in his cancer developing and in the end of his life 
way too soon.
  So his widow Danielle, who some people may remember was at the State 
of the Union up in the Gallery, and his mom Kathi and his daughter 
Brielle have been tireless advocates for addressing this burn pit 
issue, trying to stop the burn pits from being used but, of course, 
addressing the consequence of these burn pits. And they have channeled 
their grief in a constructive way, which is to encourage Congress to 
pass this legislation that we passed today. So many other veterans who 
have been exposed to burn pits will now get their healthcare because of 
their work and because of the tribute that is being paid to their 
father and husband and son, Heath Robinson.
  So that is who Heath Robinson is, and that is why it was important to 
name that legislation today after him.

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