Jon Stewart Says Veteran Health Issues ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind,’ but ‘When It’s Time for War, We Always Have the Money’

Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart is continuing his advocacy for veterans over Memorial Day weekend, and the comedian and filmmaker highlighted the lack of government support for health issues stemming from the wars in the Middle East in an appearance on Fox News on Friday.

Stewart appeared on America’s Newsroom along with Capt. Rafael Barbosa, who has been diagnosed with stage-4 colon cancer, a result of his exposure to “burn pits” while serving his country overseas.

The two are pushing Congress to approve more medical and financial support for veterans suffering from health issues, specifically those that come from exposure to these burn pits, which were open areas used to discard and burn waste, releasing harmful chemicals into the air on military bases.

According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, 3.5 million veterans have had enough exposure to these burn pits that it has caused related health problems.

Asked by host Bill Hemmer whether he is on the verge of “victory” on an issue he’s talked about for some time, Stewart could only say they are in a “better position” today, but things are still moving at a snail’s pace in Washington D.C.

Stewart highlighted the help of Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) for coming up with a bipartisan agreement, but said they are still “six to eight senators away from finally getting this rock over the hill.” The bill from Tester and Moran would cut red tape in providing benefits for burn pit-related health issues, give additional training to Veteran Affairs on the issue, and add health conditions that can be covered.

“But any delay continues to cost the lives of veterans,” he said.

Stewart later called out the U.S. government for its willingness to spend billions on wars with ease, but its hesitance to spend similar amounts on helping veterans with health issues related to their service, whether they be mental or physical.

There is a small percentage of Americans who bear the onus and brunt of America’s wars, and it is a tiny percentage and it is the veterans and their families and oftentimes their caregivers, and, you know, out of sight, out of mind. When it is time for war, we always have the money, man, get the credit card out, put down that $6 trillion to go to war for 20 years, and then we try to balance the budget on the backs of veterans as they’re coming home to reintegrate and assimilate and deal with all the health problems.

Barbosa, who served in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, recalled his own experiences with burn pits during the interview.

“I was a pilot in Iraq and I remember that the burn pit was literally on the approach end to the runway. So as we were coming home from a mission, we could literally tell where the airfield was by the burn pit in our FLIR camera,” he said.

He said during his tour in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2004, it was an even more “archaic” situation and burn pits were used every day.

Stewart will be further highlighting the veteran issue at an event over this Memorial Day weekend in Washington D.C.