A bill in Congress that would have expanded healthcare benefits for about 3 and a half million veterans exposed to toxic burn pit fumes may still have life, after having it's passage blocked Thursday, July 28.
The Honoring Our Pact ACT failed in a procedural vote after 25 Senate Republicans opposed the bill. It had received bipartisan support as well as an earlier approval in the Senate.
The move stunned advocates and lawmakers including Michigan Representative Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, who had worked on the burn pit exposure bill.
“You know every single one of them, I’m sure has photographs of veterans in their offices smiling, you know hamming it up for the pictures with veterans but when it came down to actually doing the right thing, they chose politics over veterans period," Slotkin said.
Slotkin says she’s been in touch with fellow Michigan Representative Peter Meijer, a Republican, who also supported the measure and says he was just as stunned as she was.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, has signaled the bill will be given a second chance at a vote Monday, August 1.