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Vets are protesting outside Capitol to push for new toxic exposure bill

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By 11 p.m. Friday, all the senators who had roamed the halls of Congress this week were gone from Capitol Hill.

But the veterans weren’t.

A contingent of about 15 veterans — most of whom had spent the prior 48 hours meeting with lawmakers to discuss new toxic exposure legislation — were camped out on the Senate steps even as rain began to come down steadily. More were expected to arrive after midnight.

Plans called for an around-the-clock fire watch of advocates at the Capitol to last until Monday afternoon, when the Senate is again scheduled to vote on the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, better known as the PACT Act. The goal was to emphasize — throughout the weekend — the importance of action on the issue, even if no lawmakers were present to see it.

“We’re here to let the Senate know that we’re not going home and neither should they until they get the PACT Act done,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Legislative Service.

Veterans groups have been searching for ways to bring pressure and urgency on senators since Wednesday, when a procedural vote on the measure failed in surprising fashion.

The measure — which could expand medical options and benefits for as many as one in five veterans living in America today — passed out of the Senate in June by a comfortable bipartisan 84-14 margin.

But after it was approved with technical corrections by the House, Senate Republicans chose to block the bill, with 27 GOP members unexpectedly changing their vote from the previous month.

Reasons for the surprise opposition include lingering concerns about how some benefits spending will be classified in future budgets and anger over unrelated health care and climate change legislation announced by Senate Democrats this week.

But the veterans standing watch outside the Capitol said none of those factors justify stalling the sweeping veterans policy measure when passage appeared all but certain after years of advocacy and lobbying work.

Kristen Rouse, a board member of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and an Army veteran with three tours in Afghanistan, traveled from New York to Washington, D.C., on Friday to be part of the event.

“Veterans are sick and dying,” she said. “I may be next. I was exposed to thick constant smoke for a full year in Afghanistan. The very least I can do is show up to pull a shift on the Capitol steps with these fighters.

“We need the Senate to come back and get to work. Suffering veterans don’t get any breaks. They shouldn’t be on recess or whatever they’re doing. Veterans need help now.”

Advocates brought coolers, camp chairs and pizza to their late-night protest shift. They sent texts to fellow veterans about the effort throughout the night and passed time by watching clips of Jon Stewart, the comedian-turned-activist who spoke at a veterans rally on Capitol Hill Thursday, skewering Republicans on social media for their opposition to the bill.

Veterans said several House lawmakers — but no senators — stopped to chat on Friday afternoon to offer support for the effort. Other passersby approached to ask about the bill and what it could mean for the veterans community.

The plan, which calls for about $300 billion in spending over the next 10 years, would establish a presumption of service connection for 23 respiratory illnesses and cancers related to the smoke from burn pits used in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would also extend Veterans Affairs medical care for those vets, from five years after service to 10 years.

It would also provide new benefits for veterans who faced radiation exposure during deployments throughout the Cold War; veterans dealing with hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy from the Vietnam War, and new Agent Orange presumptive status for veterans who served in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Guam during the 1960s and 1970s.

Senate Democrats said they are hopeful that a deal can be reached to move ahead with the bill by Monday afternoon, when the chamber is expected to return from a weekend break for a final week of work before its month-long summer recess.

As the weekend began, the advocates on the Senate steps were hopeful that their vigil there will only last until that Monday procedural vote.

“This is a bill that should have been passed a month ago,” said Aleks Morosky, deputy director of government affairs for Wounded Warrior Project. “When it came back over to the Senate, the people that voted for it last time, they chose to vote no on it. And that is unacceptable.

“So, we’re here to get the Senate to pass this bill without any more delays.”

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

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Angry veterans advocates scramble to save toxic exposure bill after surprise setback

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Veterans advocates scheduled a victory-lap press conference outside the Capitol for Thursday morning in anticipation of passing new toxic exposure benefits legislation.

But after 41 Senate Republicans blocked the measure on Wednesday night, the event turned into a obscenity-laced rage fest instead.

“America’s heroes who fought our wars are outside sweating their asses off, battling all kinds of ailments, while these motherfuckers sit in the air conditioning walled off from any of it,” comedian and activist Jon Stewart told the grumbling crowd. “They don’t have to hear it. They don’t have to see it. They don’t have to understand that these are human beings suffering.

“They haven’t met a war they won’t sign up for and haven’t met a veteran they won’t screw over.”

Now, after supporters believed they were just a few procedural votes away from a monumental congressional victory, they’re left wondering whether their anger can restart legislative momentum on the stalled veterans bill and salvage something from years of lobbying efforts.

The measure — the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, or PACT Act — could affect benefits for as many as one in five veterans living in the U.S. today. It has been touted for months as potentially the most significant veterans policy changes in years.

It dramatically expands benefits for illnesses believed to be linked to burn pit smoke in Iraq and Afghanistan, Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam and proximity to other harmful military contaminants in varied service eras. It also would force changes in how the Department of Veterans Affairs evaluates and awards benefits for those kinds of illnesses in the future.

The PACT Act was expected to pass out of Congress in late June, but a technical correction mandated another set of votes in the House and Senate for final approval. It advanced on a 342–88 vote in the House two weeks ago with significant Republican support and already had been supported in the Senate with a 84–14 vote in June.

But 27 Republicans changed their support during a procedural vote Wednesday evening, sidelining the bill for now and frustrating supporters who thought their work was all but done.

“It came out of nowhere,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York and a longtime supporter of the benefits expansion. “And it was total bullshit.”

Senate leaders can bring the measure up for another procedural vote in the next few days, but they’ll only do so if they’re confident they have satisfied Republican objections.

And they admit they still aren’t sure exactly what those objections are.

In June, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, led the Senate opposition to the measure over how the $300 billion in spending over the next decade would be classified. The bill categorizes the new money and some already established payouts as mandatory spending. Toomey wants the existing spending to remain unchanged, saying reclassifying it may allow appropriators to add more spending to non-defense accounts in the future.

However, only 13 other Republicans backed Toomey’s concerns during the vote on the measure. Several declined to answer questions on why they switched their votes now.

Democratic leaders say they think other political issues played a larger role in the rest of the GOP caucus’ change of heart.

“There are really only two explanations,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, said on the Senate floor Thursday. “The first is that 30 Republicans just changed their mind. Three weeks ago they thought it was a good bill, and three weeks later they decided that it wasn’t a good idea.”

“The less charitable explanation is this: Republicans are mad that Democrats are on the verge of passing climate change legislation and have decided to take out their anger on vulnerable veterans.”

During Wednesday’s veterans vote, Senate Democratic leaders announced they had reached a long-sought budget reconciliation deal that includes new climate change provisions, health care protections and tax increases for upper income Americans.

The potential proposal has been decried by Republicans for months, some of whom vowed to block a host of unrelated legislation if the deal advanced.

Eight Republicans — including Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Jerry Moran, R-Kansas — voted for moving ahead with the PACT Act. Senate Democrats need at least 10 to advance the legislation, and more if members of their caucus are absent with injuries or illnesses.

On Thursday, Moran said he is working to find a solution.

“I have no doubt that we’ll get there,” he said. “I am working with Republicans and Democrats to make certain that it happens sooner rather than later.”

But he also acknowledged that he was surprised by the new opposition to the bill, and uncertain about all of the reasons behind it.

If the problem with the PACT Act relates to Toomey’s objections, lawmakers could amend the bill and send it back to the House for another vote. However, with the House and Senate poised to leave town for August break in the next week, final passage would likely not happen until September, if longer.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Thursday afternoon said the chamber would attempt another PACT Act vote on Aug. 1. That will include a debate on a potential amendment to address Toomey’s accounting concerns.

But if the objections are tied more to chamber politics than the provisions of the PACT Act, however, the path to moving the measure forward is murkier.

Veterans groups at Thursday’s rally said they shifted from planned congratulatory phone calls to senators for supporting the PACT Act to restarted lobbying efforts instead. Several advocates went directly from the rally to senators’ offices, pleading with them to find a quick solution to the latest obstacle.

“We’re here now with friends of ours that need help breathing because of their illnesses from deployments,” Tom Porter, executive vice president for government Affairs at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said at Thursday’s rally. “But there are also people that aren’t here with this anymore.

“Not everybody understands all these intricacies about party politics and cloture votes. We just want to know why veterans are getting screwed.”

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

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Military toxic exposure legislation nears the finish line (again)

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The Senate is expected to take up major military toxic exposure legislation in coming days after House lawmakers passed corrections to the measure last week.

The bill — the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (or PACT Act) — was expected to be sent to the White House before the July 4 holiday, but was stalled by technical problems with the measure. The House addressed those in a bipartisan vote last Wednesday. Advocates are hopeful that the Senate can move quickly on the issue this week.

The legislation would cost almost $280 billion over the next 10 years and provide new medical and disability benefits for as many as one in every five veterans living in America today. Both veterans groups and lawmakers have called it possibly the most comprehensive effort ever to address toxic exposure issues in the military.

The PACT Act won’t be the only big veterans news on Capitol Hill this week, however. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee members are expected to discuss the Department of Veterans Affairs ongoing and controversial electronic medical records modernization project during a hearing on Wednesday.

Tuesday, July 19

House Armed Services — 9:30 a.m. — 2118 Rayburn

Readiness programs

Service officials will testify on military readiness initiatives and the National Defense Strategy.

House Foreign Affairs — 10 a.m. — 2172 Rayburn

Russian-Ukraine War

Department of Commerce officials will testify on economic penalties for Russia and support for Ukraine.

Senate Homeland Security — 10 a.m. — 342 Dirksen

Weapons of mass destruction

Department of Homeland Security officials will testify on the potential threat of weapons of mass destruction to America.

Senate Judiciary Committee — 10 a.m. — 226 Dirksen

Russian sanctions

Federal officials will testify on efforts to aid Ukraine through forfeiture of Russian oligarchs’ assets.

House Veterans’ Affairs — 10 a.m. — Visitors Center H210

Pending legislation

The committee will mark up 17 pending bills.

Senate Foreign Relations — 2:30 p.m. — Capitol S116

Pending business

The committee will consider several pending nominations and bills.

Wednesday, July 20

House Foreign Affairs — 10 a.m. — 2172 Rayburn

Russian war crimes

Outside experts will testify on evidence of war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.

Senate Foreign Relations —10 a.m. — 419 Dirksen

Global food security

State Department officials will testify on U.S. efforts to combat hunger worldwide.

House Foreign Affairs — 10 a.m. — 2172 Rayburn

UN World Food Program

Officials will testify on successes and challenges of the UN World Food Program.

House Veterans’ Affairs — 1 p.m. — Visitors Center H210

Veteran education

VA officials will testify on education improvements put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

House Foreign Affairs — 10 a.m. — 2172 Rayburn

Russia in Latin America

Outside experts will testify on Russian influence in Latin America and potential problems that it brings for western nations.

Senate Veterans’ Affairs — 3 p.m. — 418 Russell

VA electronic health records

VA officials will testify on the status of the department’s election medical records modernization program.

Thursday, July 21

House Foreign Affairs — 9:30 a.m. — online hearing

Africa

Outside experts will testify on U.S. influence in Africa.

Senate Armed Services — 9:30 a.m. — G-50 Dirksen

Nominations

The committee will consider the nominations of Lt. Gen. Bryan Fenton to be head of U.S. Special Operations Command and Lt, Gen. Michael Langley to be head of U.S. Africa Command.

Senate Homeland Security — 10:15 a.m. — 342 Dirksen

Nominations

The committee will consider the nomination of David Pekoske to be administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.

Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.

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