FILE IMAGE - Soldiers burn trash from the Jaghatu Combat Outpost in a pit, located just outside the walls of the base in Jaghatu, Afghanistan on Sept.
12, 2012. (Photo by Lorenzo Tugnoli/For The Washington Post via Getty Images) WASHINGTON - The House is poised to pass legislation that would dramatically boost health care services and disability benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.The bill set for a vote Thursday has the backing of the nation’s major veterans groups and underscores the continued cost of war years after the fighting has stopped.
If passed into law, it would increase spending by more than $300 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office."If we're not willing to pay the price of war, we shouldn't go," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.The bill would open up the Department of Veterans Affairs health care to millions of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service even if they don't have a service-connected disability.The bill also would provide new or increased disability benefits to thousands of veterans who have become ill with cancer or respiratory conditions such as bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.