Sen. Gillibrand promotes new legislation supporting veterans exposed to burn pits

[BeckyDem]

Once again, there is a denial of the consequences of war because it will cost them.


By KYLE S. MACKIE • OCT 8, 2020

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) promoted new legislation she is co-sponsoring in support of military veterans during a visit to the Veterans One-Stop Center of Western New York in Buffalo Thursday.

The proposed legislation would help veterans get Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits for illnesses stemming from exposure to burn pits and other toxins while deployed in overseas conflict zones. Approximately 3.5 million veterans have been exposed to toxic fumes and carcinogens from burn pits, according to a 2015 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs report, and many now suffer from medical conditions like respiratory ailments, lung diseases and rare cancers.

“The VA continues to claim that there’s not enough evidence that these ailments are service-connected, but we do have the evidence,” Gillibrand said. “We know what was burned. We know what was in the soil. We know that the toxic fumes and environmental conditions were so hazardous that the [U.S. Department of Defense] changed the rules for burning and switched to incinerators in many places.”

Current law requires veterans living with an illness or disability to establish a direct service connection in order to qualify for VA benefits. Gillibrand’s proposed bill, which is co-sponsored by Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-CA), would grant all veterans with proof of overseas deployment presumed exposure to burn pits and other toxins.

https://news.wbfo.org/post/sen-gillibrand-promotes-new-legislation-supporting-veterans-exposed-burn-pits

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. When is the last time any republican submitted any legislation that helps

ANYONE, including vets? Other than the rich and corps, of course.

[rzemanfl]

2. Democrat, sort of.

I will never forgive her for Al Franken.

[questionseverything]

4. Me either

N/t

[Eliot Rosewater]

5. Al would be one of the greatest of all time by now if the GOP had not

lied about him, using liars.

Unfortunately our side made a few mistakes also.

[BeckyDem]

3. They don't.

Their voting record is awful, consistently. Maybe during Eisenhower, I swear I think he was the last normal person to be a Republican president. Now they are led by a sociopath and seems totally fine with it, just look at McConnell's agenda.



What the 1956 platform said

We located a copy of the official party platform from 1956, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was running (successfully, as it turned out) for his second term as president.

All told, the meme is generally accurate in portraying these seven elements of the 1956 platform, with some caveats.

On federal assistance to low-income communities, the 1956 platform said the party would "promote fully the Republican-sponsored Rural Development Program to broaden the operation and increase the income of low income farm families and help tenant farmers."

On protecting Social Security, the platform touted the Eisenhower administration’s extension of Social Security to 10 million more workers and benefits hikes for 6.5 million Americans.

On refugees, the platform spotlighted the administration’s work in sponsoring the Refugee Relief Act "to provide asylum for thousands of refugees, expellees and displaced persons," promising its "wholehearted support" for additional efforts. M. Christine Anderson, a Xavier University historian, noted that many refugees were coming from communist countries in Eastern Europe, so this wasn't an especially controversial issue during the Cold War era.

On the minimum wage, the platform notes that the Eisenhower administration raised the minimum wage for more than 2 million workers. It urged extending minimum-wage protections "to as many more workers as is possible and practicable."

On improving the unemployment benefit system, the 1956 platform touted the administration’s actions to bring unemployment insurance to 4 million additional workers, and backed efforts to "improve the effectiveness of the unemployment insurance system."


https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2014/oct/28/facebook-posts/viral-meme-says-1956-republican-platform-was-prett/