Bill to help burn-pit victims inspired by Ohio veteran delayed by U.S. Senate Republicans
A bill named for an Ohio veteran that aims to support those exposed to toxic burn pits was delayed by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, frustrating advocates who have fought for its quick passage.
A group of Republican senators, including Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, derailed a procedural vote on the measure weeks after the Senate overwhelmingly approved it. The Senate had to take it up a second time because the House made a slight change to the original bill, Roll Call reported.
Wednesday's vote caught Democrats and other supporters by surprise.
"For whatever reason, Republicans decided that their political calculations and their politics are more important than what we do for this nation's veterans," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said during a news conference Thursday.
Bill named for Pickerington native and former Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson
The legislation is named for Pickerington native and former Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson, who died in 2020 after battling lung cancer for three years. Robinson, a soldier twice recognized by the Ohio National Guard, attributed his illness to smoke exposure from burning trash pits during his deployment to Iraq in 2006 and 2007.
His wife, Danielle Robinson, attended President Joe Biden's State of the Union address earlier this year. She and her mother advocate for burn-pit victims who have been denied Veterans Administration benefits because the agency didn't believe their illnesses were service-related.
The bill would expand eligibility for VA health benefits to burn-pit victims and provide toxic exposure screenings to veterans at their medical appointments. It also would increase training and research into the issue, particularly among veterans who served in the Gulf War and post-9/11.
Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey argued Wednesday that the bill would allow for spending unrelated to the issue of burn-pit exposures. Toomey said the vote didn't doom the bill permanently and called on Democrats to help make changes.
A spokeswoman for Portman said despite Wednesday's vote, he'll support the bill when it comes up for a final vote because he "supports helping veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals while serving our country." Portman backed the measure when it first passed the Senate, but he voted no on the procedural move because Republicans were blocked from offering amendments like Toomey's.
Proponents accused the Republican senators of playing politics and contend the delay will hurt veterans who are currently waiting on health care.
"Republicans...chose to be cruel and voted to increase physical suffering and financial crisis these sick and dying war heroes are in RIGHT NOW!" tweeted Robinson's mother-in-law, Susan Zeier. "MILITARY VETERANS RIGHT NOW ARE DYING and all but eight Republican senators voted not to help."
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
Get more political analysis by listening to the Ohio Politics Explained podcast
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Burn pit exposure: Heath Robinson bill delayed by U.S. Senate vote
