Let's get into the details rather than the political narratives.
- Concerns expressed by the Senators:
Senate Republicans now say they want to be able to modify the bill, to fix a "budget gimmick'" they say could be exploited by Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would schedule another procedural vote Monday.
abcnews.go.com
- More specifically:
Spending fight
Some members had objected because the federal government would pay for the bill’s $278.5 billion cost through mandatory rather than discretionary spending.
Mandatory spending includes entitlement programs like Social Security, and is set in law and in effect indefinitely. Under discretionary spending, members of Congress would control the funding each year through the appropriations process.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said there had been an agreement between Tester and Moran for two amendment votes, but Democratic leaders have not scheduled those votes. Cornyn said the hope is for further negotiations to “eliminate some of the mandatory spending in the bill and the bill can pass.”
Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey said in a brief interview after the vote that he wanted to address a “budget gimmick” in the bill that he believes would lead to an increase in spending unrelated to providing health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits.
Toomey said he had “no quarrel with” the legislation creating $278.5 billion in new spending during the next decade that would be classified as “mandatory.”
Toomey’s opposition to the bill comes from a separate section of the package that “would authorize $400 billion over the next 10 years of existing spending … to be switched from discretionary to mandatory.”
“And the reason for that, is to create a $40 billion annual hole in discretionary spending under the cap,” Toomey said. “And allow all kinds of spending on who knows what.”
The U.S. Senate came up short Wednesday in trying to move ahead on legislation that would provide health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits overseas.
ohiocapitaljournal.com
- Schumer voted no in the Senate:
With 60 votes needed to advance, the vote was 55-42 with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer changing his vote from yes to no in order to allow a future vote on the legislation. Twenty-five Republicans who supported the previous version of the bill did not support this procedural vote.
A procedural vote to advance legislation aimed at helping millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits failed on Wednesday afternoon, in a surprise move that the Senate Veterans' Affairs chairman warned could cost veterans' lives.
www.cnn.com
- This may yet be rescheduled for a vote in the Senate:
It's not clear when the Senate vote will be rescheduled.
A procedural vote to advance legislation aimed at helping millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits failed on Wednesday afternoon, in a surprise move that the Senate Veterans' Affairs chairman warned could cost veterans' lives.
www.cnn.com
- In June, it was widely supported, which included Republicans.
A wide bipartisan majority approved the long-awaited bill by a vote of 84-14. It will now go to the House of Representatives, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pledged to move quickly and send it to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature. The bill is an amended version of the Honoring Our PACT Act that passed the House earlier this year.
The Senate on Thursday passed historic legislation that would help millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service.
www.cnn.com
Given this additional detail, I think it more accurate to day that the GOP shit on the Democrat's budget gimmick rather than the veterans themselves, as cited above, there was no concerns about the purpose of the bill, but the budget gimmick the Dems introduced into it.
I'd rather have seen that issue addressed and resolved, rather than the bill be put in jeopardy, which may yet be resolved, as this vote in the Senate was only a procedural one. The bill isn't dead yet.
