WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday took to the U.S. Senate floor to slam Senate Republicans for blocking passage of the Honoring our PACT Act, legislation to expand health care benefits for veterans. The bill passed last month by a vote of 84-14, but another vote was required after the House of Representatives acted on a slightly modified bill to correct a procedural error; on Wednesday night the Senate took a vote on the corrected bill, which failed by a vote of 55 to 42.

“A number of Republican and Democratic legislators here, the House and the Senate, worked together to develop something called the PACT Act. This is groundbreaking legislation, decades in the making, that provides veterans access to health care for exposure to toxic chemicals, exposure that comes through being subjected to military burn pits,” Murphy said.

Murphy laid out the possible explanations for Senate Republicans having changed their votes to defeat the Honoring our PACT Act, “The more charitable explanation is that 30 Republicans just changed their mind. That three weeks ago they thought it was a good bill, helping veterans was a good idea, and three weeks later they decided that it wasn't a good idea. That they would rather spend that money on somebody else instead of our most vulnerable veterans.”

Murphy continued: “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. Because that's the other thing that's changed in the last three weeks…That's the less charitable explanation, because that would be pretty horrific if Republicans were mad about a climate change bill and decided to take out their anger on veterans, on vulnerable veterans.”

Murphy concluded: “Either way, this is not a good day for veterans in this country. Democrats are standing up for veterans. We're going to keep voting for the PACT Act. We're going to bring it back. But 30 Republicans that thought helping veterans was a good idea just three weeks ago, all of a sudden have abandoned the cause.”

A full transcript of his remarks can be found below:

“I just want to note something that happened here today that was really odd. So, a few weeks back we came together and had a consensus bipartisan vote to stand up for our veterans. A number of Republican and Democratic legislators here, the House and the Senate, worked together to develop something called the PACT Act. This is groundbreaking legislation, decades in the making, that provides veterans access to health care for exposure to toxic chemicals, exposure that comes through being subjected to military burn pits. These are these pits where a lot of toxic chemicals and plastics are burned at military installations, but also for exposure to chemicals like Agent Orange.

“So we had an 84-14 vote here just a few weeks ago in favor of the PACT Act. And then the bill came back to the Senate due to some technical corrections having nothing to do with the substance of the bill, and yesterday the vote went from 84 to 55. 

“30 senators reversed their vote, and the bill failed. All 30 of those were Republicans. What happened in two weeks that convinced 30 Republicans who previously thought it was a good idea to help veterans to decide instead to tank a bill that was helping veterans? 

“There's really only two explanations. The more charitable explanation is that 30 Republicans just changed their mind. That three weeks ago they thought it was a good bill, helping veterans was a good idea, and three weeks later they decided that it wasn't a good idea. That they would rather spend that money on somebody else instead of our most vulnerable veterans. 

“That would be pretty fantastic to have 30 members of the Senate change their mind on the merits of a bill, especially a bill that helps veterans, the most vulnerable veterans in this country, veterans who are dealing with cancer and respiratory illnesses. 

“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. Because that's the other thing that's changed in the last three weeks. Republicans thought that Democrats weren't going to be able to pass a bill asking corporations to pay a little bit more, tackling climate change. Yesterday, news emerged that there is an agreement that makes it likely that a climate change bill is going to proceed on the Senate floor, and magically 30 votes flip. 

“That's the less charitable explanation, because that would be pretty horrific if Republicans were mad about a climate change bill and decided to take out their anger on veterans, on vulnerable veterans. So maybe in the coming days we'll figure out which one it was. Maybe we'll figure out if 30 votes flipped because the merits of the bill dictated that flip. Or maybe we'll find out that Republicans have decided to just take out their anger about the reconciliation bill on veterans. 

“Either way, this is not a good day for veterans in this country. Democrats are standing up for veterans. We're going to keep voting for the PACT Act. We're going to bring it back. But 30 Republicans that thought helping veterans was a good idea just three weeks ago, all of a sudden have abandoned the cause.”

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