By Patricia Kime
The Veterans Affairs Department must learn to favor veterans when deciding whether to approve claims for illnesses related to environmental exposures and contaminants, senators said during a Tuesday hearing on Capitol Hill.
From the South China Sea to the Arabian Desert, from Iraq to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and elsewhere, service members have been exposed to pollutants that have harmed their health, yet the VA continues to engage in “passive-aggressive rebuttal of scientific findings” to deny them health care and compensation, charged Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.
Speaking to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Burr implored its members to increase their oversight of the VA’s handling of toxic exposure claims, adding that while he is encouraged by VA Secretary Bob McDonald’s recent efforts to improve the department’s understanding of exposure-related illnesses, more needs to be done.
“To this day I remain appalled at the way the United States government has treated these 
families,” Burr said, speaking of the more than 1 million residents of Camp Lejeune who consumed contaminated drinking water at the installation from the mid-1950s through 1987. “Our government rewarded them for their service by negligently poisoning them.”
“Read the Full Article at www.militarytimes.com >>>>”
All content herein is owned by author exclusively. Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VNR, authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners, technicians, or VT Network. Some content may be satirical in nature.Â
All images within are full responsibility of the author and NOT VNR.
Read Full Policy Notice - Comment Policy
