The Honoring Our PACT Act failed to receive enough votes to pass in the Senate. (Photo: Medill DC)
UPDATE: As of Aug. 1, veterans and activists continue to hold a “fire watch” outside the Capitol.
The Honoring Our PACT Act has failed to pass in the U.S. Senate this week after not meeting the 60-vote threshold.
The PACT Act creates and enforces a presumption that a wide range of serious ailments are caused by toxic exposure during military service, granting veterans free VA healthcare that many cannot afford otherwise. An estimated 3.5 million current veterans are expected to benefit from the measure.
A July 28 statement issued by The American Legion condemned the failed vote. Legislative Director Lawrence Montreuil said the delay was “absolutely unacceptable. A bill that passed the House of Representatives three times and passed the Senate with wide-ranging bipartisan support—84 senators voting in favor of it—will now be delayed, and once again veterans will suffer.”
The PACT Act was widely expected to pass July 27 after it was previously passed in the Senate in June. A “technical oversight” in the bill’s text was found and amended before it passed in House for a third time. Through each previous vote, the PACT Act garnered strong bipartisan support.
Wednesday’s vote, however, only received five Republican votes. Shortly after the cloture vote, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) issued a statement in defense of his colleagues:
“[The failed vote] doesn’t mean the bill’s defeated. It simply means that the opportunity to amend it isn’t eliminated. There haven’t been any amendments—that’s unfortunate. But I want to stress my concern about this bill has nothing to do with the purpose of the bill. It’s not about the approximately $280 billion of new spending that is meant to be required under this bill for the VA to cover healthcare and other benefits for veterans who are exposed to toxic burn pits…
…There is a mechanism created in this bill. It’s a budgetary gimmick that has the intent of making it possible to have a huge explosion in unrelated spending: $400 billion. This budgetary gimmick is so unrelated to the actual veterans issue that it has to do with burn pits that it’s not in the House version of this bill.”
In response, Senate and House Democrats, activists like Jon Stewart, and representatives from numerous veterans service organizations held a heated press conference in front of the Capitol on Thursday.
House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who introduced the bill in 2021, responded to Sen. Toomey’s justification, “[Sen. Toomey] claims that this bill has a slush fund, but this is absolutely not true. We have a fund that will allow us to pay for the cost of war. This fund comes with all of the other safeguards and appropriations process and congressional oversight…this fund allows us to take care of veterans, but also ensures kids can eat, and we have older Americans in need.”
The referenced fund is intended for the families of veterans receiving care who are unable to cover necessities such as housing or food. The PACT Act’s full text does not include text that authorizes spending for measures not related to toxic exposure nor exempts the fund from Congressional oversight.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough also voiced support for the bill in a tweet, “vets and survivors have already waited too long for the health care benefits they’ve earned—the Senate shouldn’t make them wait a moment longer. They must pass the PACT Act now.”
Veterans and activists held an overnight “fire watch” outside the Capitol on Thursday. It is currently unclear when the PACT Act will receive another vote.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
