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The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee is considering 15 pieces of legislation that could expand health-care benefits for veterans suffering the results of toxic exposure.
That bill, a resolution of the U.S. House of Representatives, has seen no action since being assigned to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and the House Committee on Armed Services on Feb. 25 of last year.
The resolution calls for the defense secretary to conduct a study on toxic exposures and any subsequent adverse health effects experienced by U.S. troops assigned to the Uzbek base during the time it was leased, at no charge, by the U.S. government from the government of Uzbekistan.
The United States began leasing the base, colloquially known as K2, from the Uzbek government in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks. K2 provided an attractive option for the U.S. to project military power into Afghanistan in the fight against Islamic extremist al-Qaida and Taliban forces.