At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on March 16, experts testified about the long-term health effects of exposure to burn pits that used jet fuel to incinerate medical waste, chemicals, human waste, and other trash at U.S. military installations during the First Gulf War and subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One prompt for the hearing was new, bipartisan legislation from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), chair of the SASC’s subcommittee on personnel. Her proposed bill, “Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2021,” would automatically entitle veterans who served in southwest Asian theaters from 1990 onward to disability benefits if they suffer from various cancers, post-service asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, and other health conditions that have been linked to burn pit exposure. While other bills to address burn pit victims have been proposed, Gillibrand told The Epoch Times at a …