The Senate passed veteran healthcare legislation Tuesday after a contentious delay brought about by a group of Republican senators blocking the bill over a budget measure.
The measure passed by a vote of 86-11, a bipartisan supermajority easily exceeding the 60-vote threshold to clear a filibuster. President Joe Biden hailed the passage of the “biggest expansion of benefits for service-connected health issues in 30 years and the largest single bill ever to comprehensively address exposure to burn pits” in a statement issued by the White House afterward.
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“I look forward to signing this bill, so that veterans and their families and caregivers impacted by toxic exposures finally get the benefits and comprehensive health care they earned and deserve,” Biden added.
The bill, the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins Act, also known as the PACT Act, would expand eligibility for veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals for free medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs. An estimated 3.5 million post-9/11 combat veterans may have been exposed to toxic chemicals or “burn pits,” according to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
The substance of the bill has broad bipartisan support, and the Senate passed another version of the bill in June in an 84-14 vote. But the House made a technical change when it passed the bill, forcing the bill back to the Senate for final passage.
However, a group of Republican senators blocked the bill, arguing that a budget “gimmick” would designate $400 billion spent by Veterans Affairs as mandatory spending, not subject to annual appropriations processes as discretionary spending. Last week, they blocked a procedural vote on the House-passed version of the bill. Democrats said the same language was used in the version of the bill that passed in June.
The move sparked public outcry from some veterans and activist groups as well as comedian and television personality Jon Stewart, who joined protesters at the Capitol.
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At his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said an agreement had been reached to pass the bill and hold votes on three amendments to it. The amendments were offered by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rand Paul (R-KY). Each amendment failed to pass.
“While we can never fully repay the enormous debt we owe to those who have worn the uniform, today, the United States Congress took important action to meet this sacred obligation,” Biden said.
