On Wednesday, Congress passed the VFW-supported Arla Herrell Act, which has been championed by Senator Claire McCaskill and will expand benefits for veterans who were exposed to mustard gas, and other chemical agents during World War II (WWII). This provision would require the VA to reconsider all denied claims for full-body exposure to mustard gas and lewisite brought by WWII veterans who were stationed at 22 locations. Under the bill which is expected to become law soon, the burden of proof for those claims would fall on the VA, rather than veterans. Additionally, it mandates an investigation to determine what went wrong with this process and officially acknowledge the horror these service members endured.