Legislation expanding health care for military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits passed the Senate by an overwhelming 86-11 vote Tuesday evening.
All of the “no” votes on the Honor Our PACT Act were cast by Republican lawmakers, including Mitt Romney of Utah, Thom Tillis of South Carolina and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.
Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, who led the effort to pass the bill, celebrated bipartisan support for the bill after the vote.
“This bill puts us on the path to finally paying for the cost of war,” Tester said. “We put politics aside, we got results through action through real action.”
“And we thanked the men and women who have served in our military. Thank you for what you’ve done for this country. Thank you for protecting our freedoms. Thank you for keeping us safe. And most importantly, we told them: You hold up your part of the business We held up ours.
It comes after 47 Republicans sank the bill last week over a last-minute change by Democrats to change the funds from “discretionary” to “mandatory.”
Republican lawmakers accused Democrats of creating a “snap fund” with the measure.
Comedian-turned-activist Jon Stewart was visibly moved when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer thanked him for his efforts to lobby for the bill. He and a group of veterans watched the vote unfold.
Amendments made by Republican senators Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Rand Paul of Kentucky failed to get the 60 votes needed to pass.
An amendment by Paul to limit foreign aid to help pay for the bill failed with 90 votes against and only seven votes in favor.
Another by Toomey, who led successful Republican opposition to the bill last week, would have returned the funds to their original “discretionary” category.
Toomey said he would change his vote if his amendment passed. It failed on a 47-48 vote.
Moderate Sen. Susan Collins in Maine was the only Republican to join Democrats in opposing Toomey’s measure.
Blackburn’s measure, which would have added an element of privatization to VA care, was the only one with more votes for than against by a margin of 48-47, though it needed 60 votes to pass .
The PACT Act to help veterans exposed to toxins in burn pits overwhelmingly passed the Senate after being derailed by Republicans last week.
Toomey and Paul voted against the final bill.
Veterans, their families and other activists like Stewart protested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol for days after an attempt to pass the bill was derailed by Republican opposition last week.
Stewart publicly eviscerated Republican lawmakers who voted against the bill.
GOP lawmakers had accused Democrats of adding unrelated spending to the legislation.
The bill now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature, having passed the House of Representatives in July.
The commander in chief has made it clear on several occasions how personal the issue of toxic burns is. He blamed exposure to these toxins in Iraq for the death of his son Beau Biden from brain cancer at age 46.
In June, the bill passed the Senate by an overwhelming 84-14 vote, but was forced back to the floor due to a technical error, where it fell five votes short of the 60-count threshold.
Fifty-five senators voted in favor of the bill while 42 Republican senators voted against it. Three legislators abstained.
Veterans, military family members and advocates gather in front of the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, August 2
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), left, and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana), right, cheer with John Feal, founder of the FealGood Foundation , center, as the two senators meet with veterans ahead of a vote on aid. veterans with toxic exposure illnesses
Activist and entertainer Jon Stewart embraces fellow advocate Susan Zeier of Sandusky, Ohio, just after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., assured veterans and military family members that the Senate will vote on PACT Act Tuesday.
Toomey led GOP opposition to the bill, he told CNN’s State of the Union, because of “an unrelated $400 billion spending action that has nothing to do with veterans and that it will not be in the space of veterans.”
The bill’s text had moved the spending from the “discretionary” category to the “mandatory” category, while Toomey’s amendment would reverse that.
Stewart had argued on ABC News’ This Week that Toomey’s amendment would actually put a cap on the funds, forcing sick veterans to return to the Capitol after a certain amount of time to ask for the money to be renewed.
The PACT Act will remove the burden of proof from veterans who suffer from a litany of ailments from asthma to terminal cancers after being exposed to toxins in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It would expand VA health care eligibility benefits for approximately 3.5 million veterans, according to the Pentagon.
The measures add to the law 23 respiratory diseases and cancers that have been linked to toxic burn pits, making it easier for veterans who suffer from them to get treatment.
All veterans would also have toxic exposure screenings at VA hospital appointments.
Master Sgt. Darryl Sterling, 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron equipment manager, tosses unserviceable uniform items into a burn pit, March 10
