Burn Pit Bill: Minority View. GOP being fiscally responsible or just spiteful?

Burn Pits Bill: Minority View

Since some of you asked or wondered why so many GOP members would vote “No” on what easily could of been a bipartisan bill— I have added the minority view (included in the bill)

The issue with the bill: 1. Cost. 2. Feasibility for VA to screen and compensate without detracting from other VA claims. 3. (Personal opinion) abuse by the individual claim x by the thousands. E.g. those in country 3 months in the JOC claiming they were exposed to toxins is not the same for joe on burn pit detail for 9 months. Same way those who fake their PTSD claims outclaim the disability % of those with Purple Hearts.

Minority Views

 Introduction Toxic-exposed veterans are suffering. They are looking to 

Congress, and our Committee in particular, for assistance. Republican Members are committed to addressing the needs of toxic-exposed veterans in a fair and fiscally sound manner. That said, the Democratic Majority’s decision to report H.R. 3967 out of Committee without basic information necessary to evaluate the proposal was premature and unwise. Reporting the bill was premature because the Committee lacks basic information from the Biden Administration that is necessary to evaluate its merits. Reporting the bill was unwise because it is giving veterans false hope. Preliminary cost estimates indicate that this bill may cost well over $1 trillion dollars. With no clear path to success in its current form, reporting the bill also gave veterans an empty promise. We disagree with the premise that the Committee needs to pass an unworkable bill to be on the same footing as the Senate'' and becausewe have momentum on our side.” The Committee keeps the momentum going by demanding that the Biden Administration provide Congress information it has requested to move forward. The Committee should urge the Secretary to come off the sideline and meaningfully participate in discussions. Given the Administration’s refusal to do so voluntarily, Ranking Member Bost offered an amendment that would have replaced all provisions in the underlying bill with language requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit a study containing information necessary to evaluate the policies set forth in H.R. 3967 within 90 days of enactment. Specifically, the study would have mandated VA to provide detailed information on the effect H.R. 3967 would have on the Department’s benefits and healthcare system, such as potential increases in wait times for healthcare services and benefits adjudications; the anticipated increase in the number of compensation beneficiaries and VA healthcare users; cost estimates; and the resources, staffing, infrastructure, and information technology required to implement the bill. Regrettably, the Democratic majority opposed this amendment. The Committee lacks basic information necessary to evaluate the proposals set forth in H.R. 3967. There have been no discussions on how the Committee will pay for the potentially $1 trillion dollar mandatory costs associated with this bill as required by budget rules or for the expected several billions of dollars in discretionary costs. For these reasons, as amplified below, Republicans opposed reporting the H.R. 3967.

TLDR: Bill is good for the idealist and worrisome for the pragmatic. Bill pro veterans. Bill pro expensive.

burn pit bill H.R 3967