CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Senator Thom Tillis introduced a bill that would improve health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances, according to a news release.
The Toxic Exposure in the American Military Act (TEAM Act) would give new testing and benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals through burn pits, base water contamination, or other military-related events, according to a news release.
“We know a lot more now about exposures. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in a combat situation. And the last thing after a servicemember or a family member is exposed that they should have to do is to fight for benefits to treat them. And that’s what the TEAM Act, and the TEAM coalition, I have to give a lot of veteran service organizations that came together a lot of credit for building that bipartisan consensus. We’re looking forward to sending it to the President’s desk,” says Senator Thom Tillis.
The TEAM Act would create mandates for further research, and tracking and caring of veterans who become ill due to toxic chemical exposure during their service, according to a news release.
Tillis says the bill would also broaden training among the Department of Veterans Affairs medical providers to screen for possible exposures.
Government officials say the bill was inspired by water contamination issues at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina that made thousands of veterans and their families sick.
Tillis introduced the bill days after the House passed a series of new burn pit provisions in its draft of the annual defense authorization bill, and started a conversation on how Veterans Affairs Officials should handle cases of toxic exposure, according to a news release.
