来源：《华盛顿邮报》
原文刊登日期：2022年3月16日
When they left their homes to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, they were perfectly healthy young people. Now, they are struggling with debilitating and sometimes life-threatening lung diseases.
当他们离开家去伊拉克和阿富汗服役时，他们都是非常健康的年轻人。现在，他们正在与使人衰弱，有时甚至危及生命的肺部疾病作斗争。
That’s the reality for thousands of U.S. servicemen and women who were exposed to hazardous pollutants from burn pits the military used to dispose of its waste in the post-911 wars. As is often the case with veterans’ issues, their plight has long been dismissed or ignored. From 2007 to 2020, the Department of Veterans Affairs denied almost 80 percent of all disability claims related to burn pit exposures, pointing to the scant and inconclusive evidence on whether burn pits are to blame for these illnesses.
这是成千上万的美国男女军人面临的现实，他们暴露在911之后战争中军方用来销毁废物的焚烧坑的有害污染物中。正如退伍军人问题经常出现的情况一样，他们的困境长期以来一直被忽视或忽略。从2007年到2020年，退伍军人事务部拒绝了几乎80%的与焚烧坑暴露有关的残疾索赔，指出关于这些肺病是否应归咎于焚烧坑的证据很少，而且没有定论。
But change might be on the horizon, thanks to a bipartisan effort to rectify burn pit injuries and recognize that those who served our country should not have to bear the burden of proving they deserve health care.
但是，由于两党共同努力纠正焚烧坑伤害，并认识到那些为国家服务的人为了得到医疗保健，不应该自己承担举证责任，改变可能就在眼前。
This month, the House passed a sweeping, bipartisan bill that would expand health-care eligibility for veterans exposed to burn pits during their service. The bill, supported by all Democrats and 34 Republicans, would guarantee that veterans with 23 health conditions — such as cancer — no longer have to prove that their illnesses were the result of their military service to gain access to benefits. The bill would be a significant investment in the health of veterans, amounting to more than $300 billion over a decade.
本月，众议院通过了一项影响广泛的两党议案，将扩大服役期间暴露在焚烧坑中的退伍军人的医疗保健资格。该议案得到了所有民主党人和34名共和党人的支持，将保证患有23种健康状况(如癌症)的退伍军人不再需要证明他们的疾病是由服兵役造成的，就能获得福利。这项议案将是对退伍军人健康的一项重大投资，在十年内将达到3000多亿美元。
The House bill still has a difficult road to becoming law. Critics say it costs too much and fear that it could put stress on the already strained Veterans Health Administration. But even those critics still generally support action on the issue. Some point to the much narrower bill the Senate unanimously passed last month that would increase availability of toxic exposure screening and double the amount of time that veterans can receive VA health care after discharge, from five to 10 years.
众议院议案要成为法律还有一段艰难的路要走。批评者称这花费太多，并担心这会给已经紧张的退伍军人健康管理局带来压力。但是即使是那些批评者也普遍支持在这个问题上采取行动。一些人指出，参议院上个月一致通过的议案范围要窄得多，该议案将提高有毒物质暴露筛查的可用性，并将退伍军人退伍后接受退伍军人医疗保健的时间延长一倍，从5年延长至10年。
Reconciling those two approaches will be difficult, but the momentum to address the problem is encouraging. President Biden, who has said he believes burn pits might have contributed to the death of his son Beau of cancer, last week promoted the issue. Even if legislation fails to reach Mr. Biden’s desk, his administration has signaled that it will seek to expand eligibility for benefits to burn pit victims in the next year. Though legislation would be better, the prospect of administration action is good news for veterans, who have long struggled to draw attention to their health-care needs.
调和这两种方法将是困难的，但解决问题的势头是令人鼓舞的。拜登总统曾表示，他认为焚烧坑可能是他儿子博死于癌症的原因之一，上周他提出了这个问题。即使立法未能送达拜登的案头，他的政府已经表示，将寻求在明年扩大“焚烧坑”受害者的受益资格。虽然立法会更好，但政府行动的前景对退伍军人来说是个好消息，他们长期以来一直努力吸引人们关注他们的医疗需求。
Activists often compare burn pits to Agent Orange, the herbicide the military used to clear jungles in the Vietnam War. The chemical sickened thousands of veterans, but it took the government years to recognize its effect. The government would do well to avoid another such disgraceful episode. As the United States grapples with the legacy of its war in Afghanistan, it should not avoid facing the immense toll that such conflicts have had on our troops.
活动人士经常把焚烧坑比作橙剂，越南战争中美军用来清除丛林的除草剂。这种化学物质使成千上万的退伍军人患病，但人们花了好几年才认识到它的影响。如果政府能避免再发生这样的不光彩事件，那就太好了。在美国努力解决阿富汗战争遗留问题的同时，它不应回避这样的冲突给我们的军队带来的巨大损失。