Comment Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a bill to help veterans exposed to toxic burns weeks after the measure floated through the Senate by 84 votes, angering Democrats, veterans groups and comedian Jon Stewart, a leading advocate for providing help in the community. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, was particularly incensed by the turn of events. Tester, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), other lawmakers and Stewart on Thursday morning joined veterans outside Capitol Hill — who originally came to Washington to see the bill pass — to attack the GOP. “It just makes the gut punch more devastating,” Stewart said, given the number of veterans who came to Washington hoping the law would pass. “Their voters are dying.” “This is a shame,” he added. Jon Stewart joined Democratic lawmakers in the District on July 28 after Senate Republicans blocked a new plan to help millions of veterans. (Video: The Washington Post) The bill would significantly change the way the Department of Veterans Affairs cares for veterans exposed to toxic substances, requiring the VA to assume that certain illnesses are linked to exposure to hazardous waste incineration, focusing primarily on the issue of burns from recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This would remove the burden of proof from wounded veterans. Democrats accused Republicans of voting against the bill in retaliation for a deal announced earlier by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin III (DW.Va.) that would allow Democrats to advance an economic, health care and climate package without Republican votes. Republicans say that’s not true. They show instead of fiscal policy disagreement between the two parties. Tester shared his frustration and confusion with Republican lawmakers who supported the bill a few weeks ago but reversed course and voted against moving it forward Wednesday. “I’ve been in this business for 25 years in the state legislature and here, and I’ve never seen anything happen like what happened yesterday,” he said. “And what compounds it and makes it much more difficult is that, in essence, yesterday we took away benefits from people who have been affected by a war that we started. “And we turn our backs and say, ‘No, we’re going to find an excuse to vote against our veterans,’ while we wave the flag, talking about how great our servicemen and women are,” Tester added. Biden Seeks Legislation to Help Sick Veterans Who Served Near Burns Pelosi said the Republicans’ actions are highly unusual given that aid to veterans typically attracts significant bipartisan support. “I’m very saddened that 80 percent of the Republicans in the United States Senate said no to veterans yesterday,” he said Thursday. “Eighty percent. Forty votes, no.” “Veterans have waited too long, they’re overdue,” Pelosi added. “Three and a half million veterans will benefit, will be able to benefit from this legislation. Why subject them to this?” Veterans — some wearing American flag shirts and others wearing masks — held signs. One read, “Sick and dying veterans need health care,” while another held the GOP responsible with the words, “Veterans’ blood is on Republican hands.” A version of the law passed the Senate by an 84-14 vote in June. It returned to the Senate Wednesday because the House made minor changes before approving the bill on a 342-88 vote about two weeks ago. Tester took to Twitter after the vote to express his disgust at the result. “In an eleventh-hour act of cowardice, Republicans today chose to rob generations of toxic-exposed veterans across this country of their hard-earned and desperately needed health care and benefits,” he tweeted. “Make no mistake – the American people are sick and tired of these games.” On Wednesday, the revised measure received 55 votes in the Senate — less than the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster. Twenty-five Republicans who had supported previous versions of the bill voted against the procedural vote. Jeremy Butler, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, urged Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) to vote no on Wednesday. “After voting for #PACTAct and her fellow veterans, Senator Joni Ernst turned her back on them yesterday and voted NO,” he tweeted. “What happened Senator?” Iowa vets are still getting sick and dying from toxic exposures.” Manchin says he ‘never went away’ as Democrats push for spending deal Republicans rejected the idea that the Democratic reconciliation deal was the reason for their switch. Wednesday’s failed vote had its roots in the fiscal policy controversy first raised last month by Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.), who objected to how the bill would change the accounting of about $400 billion in pre-existing veterans spending. This previously authorized expenditure was classified as discretionary — that is, subject to annual appropriations by Congress. But the bill, known as the PACT Act, authorizes $280 billion in new mandatory spending — that is, not subject to annual appropriations — and also converts the previous $400 billion in authorizations from discretionary to mandatory. That, Toomey first argued last month, amounts to a fiscal “gimmick” that could facilitate huge amounts of new appropriated spending: “Why would they do that?” he said in a speech on June 24. “The reason is because in doing so you create a big gap in the discretionary spending category, which can be filled with another $400 billion in completely unrelated spending — on who knows what.” In the weeks that followed, Toomey worked behind the scenes to brief his Republican colleagues on the issue and pushed to restore earlier spending to the discretionary category. But Democrats wouldn’t agree to an amendment, so Republicans voted en masse against advancing the bill Wednesday to force the issue. “The senior senator for Pennsylvania has an amendment that would ensure that we don’t just apply a bailout to the problem, but actually fix the underlying accounting problem,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday .) in his speech. on the Senate floor. Sen. John Thune (RS.D.), the No. 2 leader of the GOP, said Thursday that the lopsided GOP vote was “separate” from any reaction to the Manchin-Schumer deal, but said hurt feelings could they make it harder to find a solution. “Obviously, it’s not helping,” he said. After Wednesday’s failed vote, Toomey said an amendment could allow the bill to pass quickly: “My concern with this bill has nothing to do with the intent of the bill,” he said. “It’s a fiscal gimmick intended to enable a massive explosion in unrelated spending – $400 billion.” But Democrats said the effort to amend the bill amounted to political gamesmanship. Tester pushed back against Toomey on Wednesday, saying it was crazy to think Congress would ever spend that amount of money on unrelated programs through the bipartisan appropriations process. “Make no mistake about it, the American people are sick and tired of the games being played on this body,” he said. “We can make all kinds of excuses for how this is going to move money, but — let me tell you something — we’re the ones who decide that. If we want to move money, we will. if we don’t, we won’t. In the meantime, let’s pass this bill.” Toomey also dismissed the idea that the GOP action was in response to the Manchin-Schumer deal. “It’s so preposterous and dishonest for anyone to suggest that they have a relationship with the BBB,” he said, referring to an earlier iteration known as Build Back Better. “Who knew about the BBB, you know, weeks ago that I’ve been raising this issue for all this time? I am clearly on record for this. Therefore, one must be willfully ignorant of the facts or dishonest to make this accusation.” The question now is whether and when the bill can reach Biden’s desk. After their press conference Thursday, veterans’ advocates and families moved quickly, showing up at the offices of every Republican who voted to block the legislation and demanding meetings with senators and their staffs. Tom Porter, executive vice president of government relations at IAVA, predicted that despite the GOP’s concern about costs, senators will bow to the political reality that “no one is going to slap you for spending money on sick veterans.” “We will win it, but it won’t be as pretty as we expected,” he said. Lisa Rein contributed to this report.
