Rep. Ruiz makes progress on bill honoring local fallen veteran

Representative Raul Ruiz is making progress on a bill focusing on burn pits that honors a local fallen veteran.

Ruiz said in a press release that the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act has received bipartisan support in the Senate.

Senators from New Mexico and Alaska have joined Ruiz and Rep. Brad Wenstrup in introducing the bill. The bill was created in honor of veteran Jennifer Kepner, who passed away from cancer connected to her exposure to burn pits in Iraq.

“For too long, our government has turned a blind eye to veterans like Jennifer Kepner, whose entry in the burn pits registry still does not reflect her cause of death: pancreatic cancer her doctor said was most probably a result of her exposure to burn pits,” Ruiz said in the press release.

The bill ensures having the burn pit registry be updated with the cause of death of a registered individual and allow designated individuals or immediate family members to report the cause of death of a person.

The bill also provides a process “by which a registered individual may make a designation regarding who is to make the report to the registry on their behalf.”