Protecting Our Gold Star Families Education Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GALLEGO. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Honoring Our PACT Act--overdue, desperately needed legislation providing care for veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances while serving their country.

I am especially grateful for the provisions in this bill that provide healthcare to veterans harmed by burn pits. When I was in Iraq, exposure to burn pits was an everyday, constant fact of life.

Too many veterans--my dear friends from Lima Company 325 and other marines--are sick from that exposure with respiratory diseases, cancer, and other chronic conditions that young men should not be having right now.

Too many veterans live in fear that their next doctor's appointment will reveal an illness that--in addition to harming their health--could drive them into bankruptcy because the VA refuses to care for them. I am one of those people who does have that fear.

Every day we go without fighting for those veterans is a choice to let down those who have sacrificed most for our Nation. We will not let them down today.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to vote for this bill on behalf of my fellow veterans, and I urge all my colleagues to join me in doing so.

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