Jon Stewart is getting the gang back together to take on a new mission on Capitol Hill.

After successfully fighting to make the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund permanent just two years ago, the former Daily Show host is teaming up with the same group of advocates to focus on a new target: burn pits.

What You Need To Know

  • Comedian Jon Stewart wants Congress to pass a bill making it easier for veterans with illnesses potentially tied to burn pit exposure to gain access to VA benefits

  • Sen. Gillibrand has introduced legislation aimed at helping those veterans

  • Stewart previously successfully lobbied Congress to make the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund permanent

“You can’t support the troops, and then abandon them when the troops need support,” Stewart said at a press event on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

Stewart wants to see Congress pass a bill making it easier for veterans with illnesses potentially tied to burn pit exposure to gain access to assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Burn pits have been used overseas in war zones as a way to get rid of all sorts of waste, including everything from chemicals to plastics. Potentially millions of veterans have been exposed, according to a report released by the VA.

“The stories are so eerie-similar. The same cancers, the same respiratory illnesses, and the same common denominator: jet fuel,” said John Feal, who previously joined Stewart in his advocacy for the 9/11 fund.

The legislation Stewart is pushing for was introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. It has bipartisan backers in the U.S. House as well.

The bill removes a requirement that veterans prove a service connection between their illness and the toxic fumes. Instead, veterans would just have to submit documentation they “received a campaign medal associated with the Global War on Terror or the Gulf War and they suffer from a qualifying health condition,” according to a release from Gillibrand’s office. 

Veteran advocates say that as it is right now, many who apply for VA benefits are denied.

“No one should have to spend years fighting for their lives, jumping through hoops, hiring doctors, hiring lawyers, paying for experts,” Gillibrand said. “It’s not their job. They did their job, they served our country.”

Gillibrand introduced similar legislation last year during the previous Congress.

Susan Zeier with the group Burn Pits 360 Veterans is among those cheering the legislation. 

Her son-in-law, Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson, died last year after a battle with lung cancer. Zeier says he worked near a burn pit for months while serving in Iraq, but was denied benefits by the VA.

“If you want to honor my son-in-law, pass this bill. Every single member of Congress needs to support this bill,” she said, holding back tears.

It is stories like that that have Stewart gearing up for another chance to help those who served.

“We will call out whoever it is in the Senate and the House of Representatives who had the temerity and ability to spend all the money in the world to send these individuals overseas, and are now deciding to balance the budget on the back of sick veterans,” he said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the VA said the agency “continually looks at medical research and follows trends related to airborne hazards exposures. There are multiple ongoing and extensive studies by DoD and VA looking into airborne hazards exposures.”

The VA is currently collecting data from veterans and service members, allowing them to voluntarily share information about their exposures and report health issues. More information about that registry can be found here.