Senate approves bill to aid vets exposed to toxic burn pits

Staff and wire report

A bill enhancing health care and disability benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits won final approval in the Senate Tuesday, ending a brief stalemate over the measure that had infuriated advocates and inspired some to camp outside the Capitol.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, who extensively rewrote the original bill in a bipartisan effort with Veterans Affairs Committee Ranking Member Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, praised the bill’s passage.

“Today, the Senate took a historic step today to deliver all eras of veterans their earned support through passage of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act,” Tester said in a release. “For hundreds of thousands of veterans, generations of our all-volunteer military and their families, this bill is putting us on a path to finally recognizing the toxic wounds of war. This bill was a long time coming to right the wrongs to our toxic-exposed veterans — and it’s the bill our veterans and their families deserve, are counting on, and cannot wait any longer for. Our men and women in uniform held up their end of the bargain, and I’m proud we’re finally holding up ours.”

The bill now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. He has said the bill “makes good on our sacred obligation” to care for veterans and their families.

The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 86-11.

It had also approved the legislation back in June, but the legislation required a do-over for a technical fix. That process derailed when Republicans made a late attempt to change another aspect of the bill last week and blocked it from advancing.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., voted for the bill Tuesday after voting to block its advance to a vote on the floor last Wednesday.

He did not vote June 16 when the Senate originally passed the bill on a 84-16 vote.

“Today, I was glad to vote for the PACT Act to deliver disability and health benefits earned by Montana veterans suffering from toxic exposure that occurred during their military service,” Daines said in a press release Tuesday. “In recent days, I worked to ensure the VA is held accountable for meeting the needs of these veterans while also preventing big spenders in Washington from funding unrelated programs. While I’m disappointed these improvements did not pass, the PACT Act passed with my full support. I look forward to it becoming law in the very near future.”

After he voted last week to block sending the bill to a vote, a Daines spokesperson raised concerns about the bill.

“Do the Democrats want to invest in veterans’ health care or spend hundreds of billions of dollars on their Green New Deal and raise taxes on Americans — they can’t have it all,” the spokesperson said Friday about Daines’ vote last week.

Tuesday night, the spokesperson said Daines last week wanted more debate on the bill.

“The senator has been clear about his support for the PACT Act from the beginning,” the spokesperson said. “Congress’ job is to debate and work to make bills better, and this should’ve happened last week during the procedural vote of the PACT Act but Democrats wouldn’t allow it, this week they did. Last week he wanted debate to continue on the bill before it moved forward to address a funding mechanism concern.”

The bill Daines voted to pass Tuesday was identical to the bill he voted to block moving to a vote last Wednedsay.

The abrupt delay last Wednesday outraged veterans groups and advocates, including comedian Jon Stewart. It also placed GOP senators in the uncomfortable position of delaying the top legislative priority of service organizations this session of Congress.

A group of veterans and their families have been camping out at the Capitol since that vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he had good news for them when he announced the final vote for Tuesday evening.

“Veterans who were exposed to the toxic fumes of burn pits will be treated by the VA like they should have been from the beginning,” Schumer said.

The legislation directs the VA to presume that certain respiratory illnesses and cancers were related to burn pit exposure, allowing veterans to obtain disability payments to compensate for their injury without having to prove the illness was a result of their service.

Roughly 70% of disability claims related to burn pit exposure are denied by the VA due to lack of evidence, scientific data and information from the Defense Department.

The military used burn pits to dispose of such things as chemicals, cans, tires, plastics and medical and human waste.

Hundreds of thousands of Vietnam War era veterans and survivors also stand to benefit from the legislation. The bill adds hypertension, or high blood pressure, as a presumptive disease associated with Agent Orange exposure.

The bill is projected to cost about $277 billion over 10 years.

Watch for more in Thursday’s edition of Havre Daily News.