Sherrod Brown hosted the roundtable and discussed the "Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022", which will secure access to the Department of Veteran Affairs' healthcare and disability benefits for veterans who were exposed to toxic chemicals. Some veterans who joined the roundtable were exposed to or affected by burn pits during their military service.

Brown will be joined by Susan Zeier, the mother-in-law of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson. The legislation is named after Robinson, a central Ohio veteran who passed away in 2020 at age 39 from lung cancer after exposure to burn pits during a one-year deployment in Iraq in 2006. He will also be joined by veteran advocates from around the region.

The PACT Act is the result of years of effort by Brown, veterans, and advocates to ensure that veterans who were exposed to dangerous chemicals could get disability compensation and health treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We want to make sure that those veterans who served us in Iraq and Afghanistan, we live up to the pledge. They pledged to serve us, we pledged to take care of them in sickness or in health as they retire.”

“America’s brave servicemen and women risk their lives to protect our nation and defend our freedom. It’s our duty and responsibility to provide them with the best possible care when they return home,” LaTurner said.

After the SFC Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act — named after the late husband of Sandusky native Danielle Robinson — passed in the Senate last month, it caught a snag with a conservative senator thinking it cost too much.

“This bill is the most comprehensive expansion of benefits for veterans who faced toxic exposure in our country’s history,” said Brown.