Senate passes Burn Pits legislation fulfilling the vision of late Cathedral City Veteran
The U.S. Senate passed a bill today fulfilling the vision of a Cathedral City veteran who died from pancreatic cancer developed from her service in Iraq.
Jennifer Kepner was an Air Force medic exposed to toxic burn pits which caused her to develop pancreatic cancer.
In Sept. 2017, Kepner spoke with News Channel 3's John White about burn pits and how she believed they caused her pancreatic cancer.
Kepner lost her battle with cancer in Oct. 2017. She was just 39 years old, leaving behind a husband and two children.
"She and her family faced roadblocks to getting the care that she needed from the (Veterans Affairs)," Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Coachella, said in his speech on the House floor urging passage of the legislation. "At her kitchen table, she asked me to lead this fight and I promised her that I would."
Ruiz said he's led the fight for presumptive benefits for veterans in memory of Kepner, whom he met in 2017, to get burn pit-exposed veterans access to health care they need.
The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2021 would get approximately 3.5 million veterans health care for burn pit exposure and other toxins.
The House of Representatives passed the bill back in March, on what would've been Kepner's 44th birthday.
"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," said Dr. Ruiz. "I look forward to quickly sending this historic legislation to President Biden's desk."
The Jennifer Kepner HOPE Act was included in the Honoring our PACT Act to expand eligibility care "to veterans who participated in toxic exposure risk activities while serving on active duty, active duty for training or inactive duty training," according to a statement from Dr. Ruiz's office.
President Joe Biden addressed the issue of burn pits during his State of the Union address earlier this year.
"I'm also calling on Congress to pass a law to ensure veterans devastated by the toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan finally get the benefits and comprehensive health care they deserve," Biden said.
