Klobuchar, Rounds Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Recognizing Toxic Exposure Awareness Day

Statement

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) introduced a bipartisan resolution recognizing August 10, the first day that Agent Orange was used in the Vietnam War in 1961, as Toxic Exposure Awareness Day. The resolution also honors the service of veterans who were exposed to toxic substances and encourages the Department of Veterans Affairs and other veterans service organizations to promote awareness of resources available to veterans facing illnesses related to toxic exposure.

"When we ask our young men and women to defend our nation, we make a promise to be there for them when they return home, and with the historic PACT Act being signed into law, we are one step closer to delivering on that promise," said Klobuchar. "This bipartisan resolution advances those efforts by honoring the servicemembers and veterans who were exposed to toxic substances and raising awareness of the resources available to them. We must do everything we can to ensure veterans and servicemembers receive the care they've earned."

Klobuchar has been a leader in advocating for veterans and servicemembers exposed to toxic substances.

Two Klobuchar-led provisions were included in the historic SFC Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act legislation that was signed into law today. The Toxic Exposure Training Act, a bipartisan bill Klobuchar leads with Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), improves education and training for Department of Veterans Affairs health care personnel to treat illnesses related to exposure to burn pits and other toxic substances. The Toxic Exposure in the American Military (TEAM) Act, bipartisan legislation, which Klobuchar introduced alongside Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Jerry Moran (R-KS), reforms and improves how veterans exposed to toxic substances receive health care and benefits from the VA.

In October 2021, Klobuchar and Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) sent a bipartisan letter to the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs expressing concern about how toxic burn pit exposure affects women's health, including the potential increased risk of breast cancer.

In January 2021, a provision based on the bipartisan Pandemic Care for Burn Pits Exposure Act led by Klobuchar and Rounds was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The provision improves the care that veterans who were previously exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances receive during the coronavirus pandemic. It requires medical professionals to ask whether veterans who test positive for a virus designated by the federal government as a pandemic if they were previously exposed to burn pits, which will help ensure that they receive proper care and attention to their medical needs.

In December 2019, Klobuchar's bipartisan Burn Pits Accountability Act with Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Burn Pits Accountability Act requires members of the Armed Forces to be evaluated for exposure to toxic airborne chemicals during routine health exams and directs the Secretary of Defense to record and share whether servicemembers were based or stationed near an open burn pit.

In September 2018, provisions based on the Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act led by Klobuchar and Tillis were signed into law as part of the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act. These provisions -- the first legislative actions taken to address this issue -- created the Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Excellence within the VA, which is focused on researching the health effects associated with burn pits and treating veterans who become sick after exposure.

Full text of the resolution is available below:

Whereas, during the Vietnam War, the United States sprayed between 11,000,000 and 12,000,000 gallons of Agent Orange, potentially exposing millions of members of the Armed Forces stationed in Vietnam and elsewhere to this toxic mixture of herbicides;

Whereas, after the Vietnam War, it took the United States Government years to recognize the link between Agent Orange and the health conditions being experienced by thousands of returning members of the Armed Forces;

Whereas the Agent Orange Act of 1991 provided Vietnam veterans with a presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents;

Whereas members of the Armed Forces have been exposed to toxic substances while serving at home, including at Camp Lejeune, where as many as 1,000,000 members of the Armed Forces, family members, and staff may have been exposed to drinking water containing contaminants that have been linked to adverse health effects;

Whereas members of the Armed Forces have been exposed to toxic radiation while engaged in cleanup operations, including in--
(1) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
(2) Thule, Greenland; and
(3) Palomares, Spain;

Whereas, from 1985 to 2001, at Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Atsugi, Japan, personnel and family members of members of the Armed Forces, including dependent children, may have been exposed to environmental contaminants from off-base waste incinerators;

Whereas the Armed Forces used burn pits in Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm;

Whereas more than 250 burn pits were used during military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Djibouti after September 11, 2001;

Whereas veterans encountered hazardous exposures while serving at the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, commonly known as K2, in Uzbekistan from 2001 to 2005;

Whereas there were no regulations restricting what the Armed Forces could burn in burn pits until 2009;

Whereas the open air burn pits used by the Armed Forces in many overseas operations may have exposed members of the Armed Forces to a variety of potentially harmful substances;

Whereas the Department of Defense estimates that approximately 3,500,000 members of the Armed Forces, who served in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations after August 2, 1990, or in Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, may have been exposed to airborne hazards;

Whereas an Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America survey found that 86 percent of post-9/11 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan say they were exposed to burn pits or airborne toxic materials;

Whereas hundreds of thousands of members of the Armed Forces and other personnel who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and certain sea locations have signed up for a burn pit registry created in 2014 by the Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans to register health problems associated with exposure to burn pits; and

Whereas designating August 10, 2022, as "Toxic Exposure Awareness Day" would be an appropriate way to honor the members of the Armed Forces who were exposed to toxic substances while serving in defense of the United States: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) designates August 10, 2022, as "Toxic Exposure Awareness Day";

(2) honors and recognizes the contributions of the members of the Armed Forces and veterans who were exposed to toxic substances;

(3) encourages States and local governments to designate August 10, 2022, as "Toxic Exposure Awareness Day";

(4) encourages the Department of Veterans Affairs (referred to in this resolution as "VA") to conduct additional outreach and promote awareness of the resources that the VA offers for those exposed to toxic substances, including--

(A) offering no-cost health screenings;

(B) registering for the VA Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry;

(C) providing information on the Electronic Health Record (commonly known as "EHR");

(D) reviewing the VA insurance and benefits, including review of disability claims;

(E) connecting with County Veteran Service Officers; and

(F) promoting awareness campaigns;

(5) encourages veterans to use the available resources at the VA and Veteran Service Organizations (referred to in this resolution as "VSOs");

(6) encourages VSOs to continue outreach efforts to connect veterans with available health resources, from both VSOs and the United States Government;

(7) promotes continued medical research regarding burn pit exposure risks, whether through the Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Excellence or other partnership programming with the VA or the United States Government;

(8) encourages the people of the United States to observe Toxic Exposure Awareness Day, whether by familiarizing themselves with resources available to all veterans or thanking members of the Armed Forces for their sacrifice; and

(9) demonstrates the resolve that the people of the United States shall never forget the sacrifices and service of the generations of veterans who served in the Armed Forces at home and around the world.

Source