July 11, 2005
Letter to the Editor
By State Representative Patricia Dillon
The July 6th article, “State Challenging Tests for Depleted Uranium”, correctly notes that Connecticut is the second state in the nation to pass legislation establishing a best practice test to determine whether military personnel were exposed to depleted uranium dust. However, the article omits that the first state to pass such legislation, Louisiana, adapted its language from Connecticut (HB 6008).
Through the activities of military families, many states have expressed interest in Connecticut’s initiative and we are sharing strategies. For example, families felt strongly that federal, not state, government should pay for the cost of testing. Since I had been surprised to find Gulf War I veterans on state assistance programs in the 1990’s because they were denied federal disability, I listened and agreed. As a result of these conversations, I amended our own legislation, but left intact the test standard.
Connecticut took the lead in this initiative, but be assured we are still listening to the concerns of veterans who have worked with active soldiers on this issue. We have learned, and we are still learning, from each other.