Senate Republicans reversed themselves again and passed a bill Tuesday night with Democrats to aid U.S. veterans poisoned by toxic waste from U.S. military burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to remove the burden of proof from vets who say their health problems are linked to the Pentagon’s use of these burn pits, expanding healthcare and disability benefits to some three-and-a-half million former U.S. service members exposed to the burning toxic waste.
The legislation passed with a bipartisan vote of 86 to 11, just days after Senate Republicans last week blocked the bill, known as the PACT Act, triggering outrage from military veterans and supporters, who led around-the-clock protests outside the U.S. Capitol demanding action from the Senate. Many vets and their families
Senator Pat Toomey had been raising a fuss about this bill for weeks, since it was passed, since it passed the House. His issue was that Democrats were taking a $400 billion package of a piece of money that was going to veterans’ healthcare, and making it discretionary — or, making it mandatory, rather, as opposed to discretionary funding. This would be in addition to the $250 billion that was carved out for this PACT Act, which would also be mandatory funding. Why is that important? It’s important because the funding wouldn’t have to go through the regular
— source democracynow.org | Aug 03, 2022