The Senate passes burn pit bill to help veterans, overcoming Pat Toomey’s objections

Overcoming an objection from Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) and rejecting his proposed amendment, the Senate on Tuesday night passed the PACT Act, a bill to drastically expand health care for veterans sickened by burn pits or other exposures to toxic elements.

The 86-11 vote ended what had become a national firestorm that drew outrage from veterans and, prominently, comedian Jon Stewart after Toomey led a push to stall the bill over spending concerns.

Toomey joined 10 other Republicans in opposing final passage of the bill.

The $280 billion measure, which had already passed the U.S. House, now goes to President Joe Biden, who is expected to quickly sign it.

“We’ve been fighting for this for decades, for decades, and I will tell you that the last few days have not been particularly easy for me, but they’ve been even more difficult for the veterans around this nation,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D., Mont.). “This bill puts us on the path to finally paying the costs of war.”

Toomey said he and other Republicans weren’t against the underlying aim of the bill but were trying to stop a potential end-around that he said could open the door to unrelated spending.

“My amendment does not cap any spending, does not reduce veteran spending,” Toomey said on the Senate floor just before the vote. “We prevent a budget gimmick that’s designed to grease the skids for up to $400 billion in totally unrelated spending.”

Democrats said the move could force veterans to come back to Congress for additional spending approvals if future spending exceeds estimates, and said any additional spending that results would still need approval from lawmakers.

“Congress, Congress, Congress has to justify the funds,” Tester said. “It will be reviewed as part of the standing appropriations process.”

The bill had appeared to be on a smooth path toward becoming law when the Senate passed it in an 84-14 vote in June. But when the House made minor changes, it required a second Senate vote — and more than two dozen Republicans shifted their position, citing criticism from Toomey, a fiscal conservative who had voted against the measure the first time.

» READ MORE: Bob Casey joined the outrage as Democrats hammer Pat Toomey over a stalled bill to help veterans

The fight hinged on the bill’s provisions to convert some “discretionary” veterans spending, which must be approved every year, to “mandatory,” which is essentially automatic. The change is aimed at ensuring that the veterans’ care covered by this bill isn’t hung up by annual budget fights. But Republicans say making some existing spending mandatory would leave behind a chunk of spending authority that could then be freed for other causes.

Toomey, who has the ear of many of his GOP colleagues when it comes to fiscal issues, worked to peel away Republicans who initially voted for the bill.

The dispute became a national controversy, driven in large part by Stewart’s scathing social media posts. After Toomey’s amendment failed, most Republicans resumed their support for the overall bill.

Both the Republican and Democratic candidates running to replace Toomey, who is retiring, said they support the bill.

“If the Senate doesn’t care about our veterans enough to provide basic health care for our most vulnerable veterans, then why are they even in this business to begin with?” asked a statement from Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic Senate nominee. “Send me to D.C., and I promise to never use the people who served our country as bargaining chips for political gain.”

GOP nominee Mehmet Oz said he also supports the bill.

“Dr. Mehmet Oz supports the PACT Act and he believes the Senate should act quickly to support our veterans,” said Oz spokesperson Brittany Yanick. “These veterans served our country and those who are sick deserve the best health care possible.”