Senators barred vets from testifying

A whistleblower and the sudden and swift move to impeach President Donald Trump eclipsed a long-awaited hearing Wednesday in front of the U.S. Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.But U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown was undeterred in his quest for the Department of Defense to take action to protect veterans exposed to toxic fumes from burn pits maintained by the U.S. military near army bases in Iraq and Afghanistan."The Department of Defense has known that burn pits released toxic blooms into the air ... one memo dating back to 2006, near the beginning of the Iraq war, contains phrases like (toxic smoke) presents 'an acute health hazards for individuals... to our troops and the local population,'" Brown said while questioning a panel of witnesses from the defense department. "Air quality testing found that 'samples were considered unhealthy by EPA standard.'""An alternative to burn pits in the deployed environment — that report is still ongoing in terms of the analysis and the proposed solution," Dr. Terry M. Rauch, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for health readiness policy and oversight, replied. "But the department is moving away from open burn pits." "As they should have," Brown responded. "There seems to be a lack of urgency in all of this as people get sick and die in far too many cases. We need presumptive eligibility," Brown told the panel, giving veterans suffering from symptoms associated with burn pits access to specific and immediate health care therapies."The hearing was a good first step toward addressing the unique health needs of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq," Brown told the Register after the hearing. "Congress needs to take concrete action to help Ohio veterans harmed by toxic burn pits, and I will continue fighting for solutions, including pushing for passage of the Burn Pit Accountability Act."Brown, a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, has long advocated for veterans and pushed for the hearing. He also pushed to allow veterans with burn pit illnesses to testify, along with family members and physicians, but was unsuccessful in getting committee Chairman Sen. Johnny Isakson to schedule time for them in this hearing. Brown collected written testimony from Ohio veterans for the record and submitted those to the committee.Susan Zeier, a local advocate whose son-in-law has been diagnosed with what is likely a terminal illness related to his military service and exposure to toxic fumes from burn pits, said the only veterans at the hearing were seated in the audience. One was in a wheelchair, and another veteran was coughing and suffering from the shortness of breath associated with burn pit illnesses, she said. Zeier, who has lobbied Congress on behalf of veterans for about two years, was in the hearing room on Wednesday. "The hearing was successful for me in that the seriousness of this issue and urgency for getting a presumptive illness list established was covered. But my goal was not accomplished totally because the veterans weren't given a seat at the table. That just doesn't make sense."There were many veterans sitting in the audience who are sick and affected by the burn pits listening to about 23 men and women talking about their health and the obstacles they face in dealing with Veterans Administration matters. They sat there biting their tongues with a lot to say but no one asked them to participate in discussions on their own healthcare needs."Isakson has refused to comment about why he barred veterans from testifying, and other senators the Register asked also declined to address the question. "The hearing went about as I expected with the Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense representatives giving generic answers, a lot of 'I'll have to get back to you on that' and 'we're doing research.'"Dr. Patricia R. Hastings, chief consultant, post-deployment health specialist with the VA and Dr. Drew Helmer, director, war-related illness and injury study center, along with Rauch were the witnesses on the morning panel on Wednesday."Dr. Drew Helmer responded to a question asking how long will it take to determine a presumptive illness list for service connection diseases. His response was that the VA is capturing data and processing it daily without really giving an answer to the question," Zeier said. Dr. Robert Miller of Vanderbilt University testified Wednesday afternoon."He was the first physician to realize something was seriously wrong with soldiers returning from Iraq suffering breathing difficulties. As he sent warnings to the VA and began research the DOD stop sending him patients and tried to ruin his career," Zeier said. "He commanded the room today when he spoke. At one point he was asked if the DOD told him to stop doing invasive biopsies on soldiers and the room was dead silent for about 15 seconds. This type of biopsy is necessary to diagnose constrictive bronchiolitis.""Having him on the panel was a coup for veterans' advocates, she said.U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown at a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday in the Russell Office Building, Washington, D.C.. Susan Zeier in the hearing room on Wednesday in Washington D.C. The sign on her son-in-law's jacket that she wore to the hearing reads: "Ask me why the soldier who wore this uniform in Iraq is dying."