On December 4, 2012, Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico was granted permission to address the United States Senate. There he spoke briefly on the issue of “burn pits” in Afghanistan.
“Mr. President, I wanted to come down and talk about an amendment I am working on to the Defense authorization bill. Last week Senator Corker and I filed amendment No. 3049, which would create an open burn pit registry in the Defense Authorization Act. Our veterans and Active-Duty members suffering from exposure to burn pits should not have to wait any longer. The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee agrees and has passed the legislation after holding hearings. However, I understand there is currently opposition to passing this amendment via a managers’ package.”
“In both Afghanistan and Iraq, open-air burn pits were widely used at forward operating bases. Disposing of trash and other debris was a major challenge. I believe, like the rest of my colleagues, that if we are forever in debt to our veterans for their service, we must be asking this question: How did these burn pits impact the health of our returning heroes?”, he said.
See video: Trash Burn Pits in Afghanistan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNhsrbhK91I
“This amendment is a step toward finding the answers we owe them. It is supported by numerous groups, including Burnpits 360, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Association of the U.S. Navy, Retired Enlisted Association, the Uniformed Services Disabled Retirees, and the National Military Family Association”, said Senator Tom Udall (source: Congressional Record http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2012-12-04/pdf/CREC-2012-12-04.pdf ).
See video: Research shows burn pits can lead to deadly illnesses http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXyAkJ7klQk
The Pentagon refused comment in this matter.