Agencies-Gaza post
PACT Act: US Senate helps veterans exposed to toxins after reversal drew fury
The Senate gave help to veterans exposed to toxins after a reversal drew fury
The U.S. Senate, in a bipartisan 86-11 vote, approved a measure to deliver health care and benefits for millions of veterans wounded by exposure to toxins, from Agent Orange in Vietnam to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Known as the PACT Act, the bill no longer would force years of veterans to prove that their illness was generated by toxic exposures suffered in the military in order to get the VA range. It had been hailed as the biggest expansion of care in VA history and was expected to cost $280 billion over a decade.
The House handed the standard in July. President Biden, who supports the PACT Act, is expected to sign it into law.
The bill like many topics related to veterans’ health had stored deep bipartisan support and easily passed the Senate by an 84-14 vote in June. But a technical error needed another vote last week, and this time, more than two dozen Republicans switched sides. That started an uproar among Democrats and advocacy groups, who blamed Republicans for selling veterans out.
Republicans said their opponent was tied to an argument over which part of the federal budget would pay for $280 billion worth of funds for veteran health programs. But Democratic lawmakers asserted that the about-face came just after Democrats called an agreement of their own on a separate reconciliation bill.
