ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Joe Morelle visited the Veterans Outreach Center Thursday, introducing a new bill to help veterans with diseases linked to burn pits and other toxic exposures obtain benefits from the VA.
They say the bill would make it faster and easier for veterans to get those benefits.
"Veterans should not be forced to beg the DOD for paperwork to prove their exposure, to spend late nights researching the links between lung scarring and burn pits, or to get a note from a private doctor trying to convince them," said Gillibrand.
"The men and women who serve and are exposed to deadly toxins is something that continues to be part of their service. And to question them, have the Veterans Administration continue to question them when they've been exposed to deadly toxins, is something that's simply unacceptable," said Morelle.