Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., attempted to push through a fix on the Senate floor late Thursday night, but the bid was blocked by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., one of the 14 senators to oppose the measure last week.
Bill would provide access to VA health care and disability benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals. Tester wanted to make changes to the Senate bill because of a "blue slip" tax issue with the House.
We have five children and six grandchildren. Our oldest son, born at Lejeune, has two sons, both of whom have a blood clotting disorder.
“No longer can we ignore the wounds of war from toxic exposures. Veterans suffering from toxic exposures have been relying on a broken system cobbled together through decades of patchwork fixes that often leaves them without health care or benefits,” Sen. Moran said
Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr voted Thursday against the bill they helped craft that would benefit veterans from Camp Lejeune who were exposed to toxic chemicals in the base’s water for nearly three decades.
“Thousands of Upstate New York veterans, and over three and a half million vets across America, have been exposed to toxins…
The vote brings the bill one step closer to law after years of advocacy from veterans support groups and health care organizations that have argued a range of health conditions from emphysema to glioblastoma, the cancer that killed Biden’s son, retired Major Beau Biden, can be linked to burn pits used to incinerate toxic waste for years at overseas military locations.
“A few months ago the House of Representatives took the historic first step of passing my Honoring Our PACT Act, and moved closer to delivering the most comprehensive legislation to date to treat toxic exposure as a cost of war. I am thrilled that the Senate has now done its part by passing my bill with some additional revisions to benefit veterans.
"Let me be clear: This bill isn't about Democrats versus Republicans," said Tester, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. "It's not about political posturing. It's about Americans standing up for those who have served and sacrificed on behalf of this country and the freedoms we have today.
As part of the Unity Agenda that I laid out in my State of the Union address, I called on Congress to make sure that veterans and their families and caregivers impacted by toxic exposures finally get the benefits and comprehensive health care they earned and deserve.