Congressman Todd Akin Missouri's 2nd District
Akin Burn Pit Legislation Passes House, Heads to Senate PDF Print



 

Washington, DC -- Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO), Chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, today thanked the House for their bipartisan support of the Open Burn Pit Registry Act (H.R. 3337), which Congressman Akin introduced last fall. This legislation will create a registry for veterans who are afflicted with health issues that may be due to exposure to burn pits in Iraq or Afghanistan. The bill has 80 bipartisan cosponsors and has been endorsed by numerous veterans’ organizations. The VA Committee combined H.R. 3337 with a handful of other veterans’ bills to create a package of bill under a new bill number, H.R. 4057, which was approved by voice vote yesterday in the House, now heads to the Senate.

Congressman Akin released the following statement:

 

“I want to thank the countless veterans and activists for veterans’ causes for supporting this legislation. Without the support of veterans’ organizations, this legislation would not be moving forward. More than 2.4 million Americans from every state and every Congressional district have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and need to ensure our continued support for their health and welfare.  This legislation started because two of my constituents suffering from burn pit exposure approached my congressional office. Since then I have heard from dozens of veterans and family members who are sick, or have lost a loved one because of the exposure from burn pits.  I look forward to its quick consideration in the Senate.”


BACKGROUND


The Open Burn Pit Registry was introduced by Congressman Akin on November 3, 2011. It currently has 80 bipartisan cosponsors and has been endorsed by the following military and veterans organizations:

 

·   Air Force Association (AFA)

·   American Legion

·   American Veterans (AMVETS)

·   Association of the United States Navy (AUSN)

·   Burn Pits 360

·   Disabled American Veterans (DAV)

·   Fleet Reserve Association (FRA)

·   Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

·   Military Order of the Purple Heart

·   National Military Family Association (NMFA)

·   Non-Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA)

·   The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA)

·    Uniformed Services Disabled Retirees (USDR)

·    Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

·    Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA)


Text of the bill and cosponsors are available here: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.112hr3337 

 

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