Republicans on Wednesday blocked a bill that many saw as a bipartisan slam dunk, which sought to expand certain benefits for veterans due to the toxic exposure they suffered while deployed, leaving many veterans and their shocked supporters.
The PACT Act, a bill that would have expanded the Department of Veterans Affairs health care to presume veterans whose military service included exposure to burn pits – large trenches dug to burn and dispose of sewage , medical waste and other waste – are victims of exposure to toxic substances and vapors when they present certain diseases. The bill would have removed the burden of proof that veterans currently must present to receive assistance.
Both houses of Congress had previously passed the bill, with the Senate voting 84 to 14 in June, but the bill was forced into another vote after “administrative problems” were found in its text. Once the changes were made, it was expected to be quickly passed by Congress and signed into law by Biden.
However, 25 Republican senators reversed their vote and blocked the bill on Wednesday.
Supporters and activists, such as former talk show host John Stewart, who had gathered on Capitol Hill hoping for a celebration after the bill passed, were rather frustrated. On Thursday, Stewart and others joined lawmakers such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a strong call for Republicans to vote against the bill.
“They don’t have to hear it, they don’t have to see it, they don’t have to understand that they are human beings. Let us understand again, these are not heroes, these are men and women,” Stewart said in a speech at the Capitol on Thursday.
With the final count in the Senate Wednesday at 55-42 (three abstentions) the exact reason Republicans swung, they claim has nothing to do with the purpose of the bill, but rather with how the funds would be allocated and managed.
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who led the opposition to the bill, expressed his desire to want an amendment focused on budget spending.
Tonight the Senate voted to give us the opportunity to fix a completely unnecessary budget gimmick in the underlying text of the PACT Act. This gimmick spends $400 billion unrelated to veterans care. pic.twitter.com/TAuE12G8l0
— Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) July 27, 2022
“There’s a mechanism created in this bill, it’s a budget gimmick, which is meant to allow for a huge explosion of unrelated spending — $400 billion. This budget stuff is so irrelevant to the real budget problem that has to do with fireplaces that it’s not even in the House bill,” Toomey said in the Senate on Wednesday.
Toomey told CNN he wants funding for the bill to be handled through an annual appropriations process, rather than the current mandatory spending structure.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he didn’t support the “budget trick” either, but did support the bill.
“As drafted, the legislation would not only help American veterans as they are designed. It could also allow Democrats to effectively spend the same money twice and allow hundreds of billions in untied new spending on the discretionary side of the federal budget,” McConnell said Thursday. “There is no excuse for the Democratic leader to continue to block Senator Toomey’s common sense amendment. A bill this important and bipartisan deserves us to fix this accounting gimmick, and then it deserves to become law. ”
The question remains why the more than two dozen Republicans, many of whom are veterans themselves, voted for last month but reversed this week. According to some Democrats, the bill was blocked for political purposes.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., argues that Republicans have instead taken their anger out of a separate PACTS Act bill. Democrats are trying to pass the Cut Inflation Act, a historic $369 billion to be spent over the next 10 years to tackle climate change, health care, inflation and taxes .
“The less charitable explanation is this,” Murphy said, explaining why so many Republicans flipped, “Republicans are mad that Democrats are about to pass climate change legislation and have decided to pass their anger on vulnerable veterans. Because that’s the other thing that’s changed in the last three weeks. Republicans thought Democrats weren’t going to be able to pass a bill asking companies to pay a little more to fight climate change.Yesterday, news emerged that there was a deal that makes it likely that a climate change bill will move forward in the Senate, and like magic, 30 votes s reverse.
The change, Democrats say, came in response to side bills, which are expected to pass this week.
Democratic candidate for an open Missouri Senate seat, Lucas Kunce, echoed that sentiment in an interview with Vox. “They had voted for the first time, they changed because they want to protest against a separate bill, that’s my understanding,” he said. Kunce completed three tours of Iraq and Afghanistan as a naval officer and was deployed to Iraq where he was stationed near a burn pit and developed post-nasal drip from his exposure.
Vox’s Li Zhou also recently reported that Republicans do not want the Inflation Reduction Act to pass and need unanimous support to stop it. Given that Biden has praised it, the bill has a strong chance of passing.
What is the invoice and why it is important
Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, also known as the PACT Act, was introduced in June by Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), who chairs the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, to address and fund health care, research, and other issues related to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances while serving.
The bill contains two main elements – a grace period for veterans who served near burning sites to seek medical attention, and legislation that directs the VA how to approach certain illnesses and cancers. Veterans would not have to prove that their illnesses are directly related to exposure to burning fireplaces to receive disability benefits and assistance. Currently, 70% of all disability claims related to fireplace exposure are denied by the VA due to the inability of veterans to prove that their illnesses or cancers are related to fireplace exposure. burning.
Cancers and other problems believed to be related to combustion fireplaces can occur years later, as happened to Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, whose bill is named. Robinson died in 2020 of rare lung cancer which he attributed to exposure to smoke while deployed to Iraq in 2006 and 2007.
Kunce said he thinks many members of the armed forces assume they won’t be put in such a dangerous position. “[It was] probably a dumb assumption to make, but … you have to trust the system first,” Kunce said. “Secondly, you have no choice, do you?” I mean, you’re here, there’s nothing else you can do.
Robinson’s wife, an advocate for victims of combustion fireplace exposure who were denied benefits, attended President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address earlier this year, where he expressed support for improving veterans’ benefits under its so-called “bipartisan unity program.” which, among other things, emphasizes commitment to veterans by delivering on promises made on health care, mental health and homelessness.
The PACT Act bill also plays into a larger conversation going on about veterans rights. In June, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision in favor of a veteran whose case related to burn pit exposure in Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety. The ruling allows U.S. Army veteran Le Roy Torres to sue the state of Texas after losing his job due to an injury sustained while serving.
And after?
Activists, lawmakers and veterans are demanding new action, with some even calling the vote criminal as they slam Republicans for stopping the bill.
“Wait a minute. You’re not going to help our veterans, because we want to: reduce the cost of prescription drugs, the cost of health care, to protect the planet. Of course, you don’t agree with any of these things, but would you use them to vote against our veterans? It’s really immoral, almost criminal,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Another procedural vote is scheduled for Monday, but Schumer can technically call the Senate to a vote at any time. In light of the suspension beginning August 5, speed will be key.