WASHINGTON, DC (October 11, 2018) – Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the leading voice of the Post-9/11 generation of veterans, is proud to announce that U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Angus King (I-ME), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) have become cosponsors of the Burn Pits Accountability Act (S. 3181/H.R. 5671), to improve the tracking and reporting of servicemembers’ exposure to burn pits and airborne toxins during their deployments.

Sens. Warren, Cotton, King, and Shaheen all serve on the influential Senate Armed Services Committee and Sen. Moran serves on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee

“Per our most recent IAVA Member Survey, 80% of IAVA members report being exposed to burn pits and 63% of those exposed report symptoms. I count myself among the 63%,” said IAVA Chief Policy Officer, Melissa Bryant. “According to the VA, about 3.5 million servicemembers and veterans are eligible for enrollment in the VA’s Burn Pit and Toxic Exposures Registry yet only 154,000 are enrolled. We want to thank Sens. Warren, Cotton, King, Shaheen, and Moran in helping us by signing onto this important piece of legislation.”

The Burn Pits Accountability Act, sponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK), now has 10 Senate cosponsors and 134 in the House. The bill is among IAVA’s Big Six priorities for 2018, including Suicide Prevention, Government Reform, #SheWhoBorneTheBattle, #DefendTheGIBill, and Medicinal Cannabis Research for Veterans.