U.S. House panel advances burn-pit bill

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A congressional committee has advanced a bill by Rep. Todd Akin, of Missouri, that would create a government registry for veterans who may have been exposed to toxic smoke while in Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure was rolled into a larger veterans bill that was approved Wednesday by the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Some veterans believe they suffer from health problems as a result of smoke and fumes they inhaled while burning tons of trash and human waste in Iraq and Afghanistan. Akin's legislation would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to create a registry to collect information on the number of veterans exposed to the burn pits and the types of health problems they later reported.