Veterans infuriated as Republican Senators tank PACT Act. Read details here

US armed forces veterans were left in anger and anguish after Republican senators suddenly tanked the PACT Act on Thursday. The measure would have expanded medical coverage for millions of armed forces personnel exposed to toxic burns during service. It had received bipartisan support until now.

The veterans were expecting the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (PACT Act) to get overwhelming support in the House and get it through to the President.

However, as a shocker to everyone, 41 Republican senators blocked the bill, including the 25 senators, who had earlier supported it. Confused by the sudden blockage by the Republicans, veterans were left furious and outraged, as they expected the bill to receive an easy passage in the Senate.


CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Jeremy Butler, said that though they had seen partisanship and games within Congress, blockage of such an important bill was shocking. He further added that blockage is like playing with the veterans and that all the reasons being given are manufactured.

Many veterans have termed the blockage as angering and frustrating. A veteran from Iraq, 49-year-old Le Roy Torres suffered a toxic brain injury during his service. Reacting to the blockage, Torres said that the senators should not be allowed to leave until they figure out the issues with the bill. He added that the veterans would not accept the blockage and would continue to press on the subject.

The PACT Act was formulated following the death of Heath Robinson. Deployed in Kosovo and Iraq, Robinson had died due to lung cancer, which he believed he got from his exposure to burn pits.

POTUS Joe Biden has been rallying for the PACT Act, partly because his son, Beau Biden, died from brain cancer linked to his exposure to burn pits in Iraq.