Jon Stewart pushes bill to help veterans exposed to burn pits
Comedian and veteran advocate Jon Stewart and Captain Rafael Barbosa on veteran fighting cancer after burn pit exposure.
Comedian and veterans advocate Jon Stewart said on "America's Newsroom" Friday that the legislative push to help veterans exposed to burn pits has gained traction.
"Certainly, we’re in a better position than we were a year ago, a better position than we were three years ago and certainly 10 to 15 years ago when this fight began," Stewart told host Bill Hemmer.
Stewart has advocated in recent years on behalf of the 3 million-plus veterans believed to have been made sick from their exposure to burn pits during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
The comedian and advocate, who successfully helped 9/11 first responders receive access to a crucial compensation fund, has been working with a coalition of veteran advocates in their efforts to lobby for the passage of a new bill, which will list burn pit exposure as a presumptive condition for any service member who fought in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
CORONAVIRUS PUTS VETERAN'S BURN-PIT RESPIRATORY ISSUES TO THE TEST
The Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act – a bipartisan bill sponsored by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., along with Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif. – would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide health and disability services to Global War on Terror (GWOT) veterans who served in places like Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations where they were exposed to toxins.
Jon Stewart holds his two Emmys at the 56th annual Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, Sept. 19, 2004. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson FG)
Stewart said troops are suffering from the same types of health effects as the former 9/11 first responders at Ground Zero in New York City.
The comedian went on to say that there has finally been some movement with the help of Sens. Jon Tester and Jerry Moran and the House of Representatives.
"We’re six to eight senators away from finally getting this rock over the hill. But any delay continues to cost the lives of veterans. I think Capt. Barbosa is a great example of a heroic individual suffering the effects of the burn pits but decided to take action and advocate for the veterans so no one else has to go through what he has gone through."
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Appearing alongside Stewart was Iraq veteran pilot Capt. Rafael Barbosa, who said there was a burn pit in close proximity to soldiers when he served.
"I was a pilot in Iraq and I remember that the burn pit was literally on the approach to the runway. So as we were coming home from a mission, we could literally tell where the airfield was by the burn pit in our camera. That’s how close it was to our work area and the work area of all the mechanics and air crews that lived close to the airfield," Barbosa said.
Fox News' Perry Chiaramonte contributed to this report.