Senate Passes Historic Toxic Exposure Package with Ruiz’s Legislation Included 

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate passed comprehensive toxic exposure legislation, the Sergeant First Class Heath RobinsonHonoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2021, or the Honoring our PACT Act, with provisions authored by Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) to get veterans suffering from burn pit exposure the care they urgently need.

At the center of the bipartisan legislative package is language based on Dr. Ruiz's bills, the Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act and the Veterans Right to BREATHE Act, that establish a presumption of service connection between veterans' military service and 23 diseases and rare cancers.

Since the death of his constituent Jennifer Kepner – an Air Force medic who developed pancreatic cancer as a result of her service in Iraq – Dr. Ruiz has spearheaded efforts over the years to get burn pit-exposed veterans the care they need. The Honoring our PACT Act also includes Dr. Ruiz's bill, the Jennifer Kepner HOPE Act, to expand eligibility for care to veterans who participated in a toxic exposure risk activity while serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.

"I enthusiastically applaud the Senate passage of the bipartisan Honoring our PACT Act," said Dr. Ruiz. "The fight for presumptive benefits for veterans suffering from their burn pit exposure has been an uphill battle and one that I have led for years in memory of Cathedral City veteran Jennifer Kepner who died from pancreatic cancer due to her exposure to toxic burn pits. Today is a moment that is years in the making and brings us closer than ever before to getting burn pit-exposed veterans the benefits and care they have earned and deserve. I look forward to quickly sending this historic legislation to President Biden's desk."

Prior to the vote, Dr. Ruiz took to the House floor to urge the Senate to pass the legislation. His floor speech is available here.

BACKGROUND

Dr. Ruiz, the founder and co-chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Burn Pits Caucus, has been a consistent advocate in addressing the military's use of toxic burn pits and helping veterans who have been exposed obtain the benefits and care they need from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Last year, he joined Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) in introducing the Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act. The legislation established a presumption of service connection for 23 conditions, including respiratory conditions and cancers for approximately 3.5 million veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other airborne hazards.

The Honoring our PACT Act includes this provision from Dr. Ruiz's bill as well as his priority to ensure that disabled veterans who have been exposed to burn pits and other toxins are given the "benefit of the doubt" by the VA when seeking medical coverage.

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