ROA response to failure of U.S. Senate to advance bipartisan landmark toxic exposure legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES, July 29, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Betraying millions of veterans, the U.S. Senate, hamstrung by many Republicans, failed Wednesday to advance a corrected version of the technically flawed bipartisan landmark toxic exposure legislation that was just passed last month.
The Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, referred to as the PACT Act, received newfound opposition from 25 GOP Senators who failed to provide a rationale for their sudden change in vote.
“What happened to the PACT Act is unacceptable,” said ROA’s CEO, Jeff Phillips. “ROA urges our nation’s veterans and the American people to contact the 41 GOP Senators who voted against this life-saving bill and ask them the following question: does the PACT Act need amendments more than toxic exposed veterans need health care – yes or no?”
Call to Action: Visit ROA’s Legislative Call to Action page to contact your Senators here.
ROA especially asks that voters in their states urge support by these senators:
Sen. Dan Sullivan (AK)
Sen. Joni Ernst (IA)
Sen. Todd Young (IN)
Sen. Roger Marshall (KS)
Sen. Robert Portman (OH)
Sen. Tim Scott (SC)
ROA’s director of legislation and military policy, Matthew Schwartzman, attended a congressional press conference yesterday with active MSO/VSO partners and key congressional PACT Act champions, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Chairman Mark Takano, Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Chairman Jon Tester, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Sherrod Brown, and Rep. Raul Ruiz.
“We cannot tolerate any further delays in advancing the PACT Act to the president’s desk for signature,” said Schwartzman. “Millions of toxic exposed veterans need to access VA health care and benefits as we speak, and the next generation of recruits are looking to how we take care of our men and women in uniform after they return home. The impact that inaction such as this has on maintaining the integrity of an all-volunteer force cannot be understated.”
Also in attendance were Burn Pits 360 co-founder, Rosie Lopez Torres, mother-in-law of the late Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson, Susan Zeier, and all-star advocate Jon Stewart.
“I’m used to the hypocrisy… I’m used to the lies… I’m used to the cowardice,” said Stewart. “I’m used to all of it, but I am not used to the cruelty.”
If this bill becomes public law, ROA will have played a critical role in expanding VA health care eligibility to more than 3.5 million toxic-exposed veterans, creating a framework for the establishment of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure, and positioning the VA for success with strategic investments in claims processing and workforce recruitment, retention, and training.
Compounding this issue is additional access barriers to VA benefits and health care for Reserve Component service members due to the differences between their battle rhythm and that of their active-duty counterparts.
If you have questions, contact ROA’s director of legislation and military policy at [email protected].
Matthew Schwartzman
Reserve Organization of America
[email protected]
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
