A bill increasing health benefits to veterans exposed to harmful chemicals during their service passed the Senate on Tuesday night. The passage comes after veteran groups and comedian Jon Stewart shamed Republicans who previously said they would not support the bill.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this situation where people who have already given so much had to fight so hard to get so little,” said the comedian. “I hope we learned a lesson.”
The bill, known as the PACT Act, expands the health benefits for soldiers exposed to harmful chemicals during service, particularly those in Iraq and Afghanistan who were exposed to toxic substances released in burn pits full of military waste. The Department of Defense estimates that there may have been 3.5 million vets exposed to such pits. The bill will also address soldiers who were exposed during other conflicts, like those exposed to Agent Orange in the Vietnam war.
The bill passed the House last month and had support from a majority of Republicans. But after Democrats announced that they had reached a deal to pass an unrelated bill that dealt with the climate, taxes, and lowering drug costs, a group of Republicans announced they planned to oppose the PACT Act.
Jon Stewart’s participation in shaming Republican senators into supporting the bill brings to mind the comedian’s advocacy for first responders and victims of the September 11th attacks. The former host of The Daily Show advocated for more funding for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund for over a decade.
As host, he dedicated multiple episode segments to the fund running out of money. Then after leaving the show, he took up the issue again in 2015 by appearing as a guest on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. In 2019, after the fund ran dry again, he went on a media tour advocating for the fund to be replenished and spoke to Congress about the issue. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg credited Stewart with turning the tide on the issue.
Speaking on the PACT bill, Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell called the objections a part of the “legislative process,” adding that veteran organizations “will be pleased with the final result.”
Stewart did not see it that way, calling the Republicans who opposed the bill “stab-vets-in-the-back senators.”
President Biden praised the bill's passage, tweeting: “We’ll never be able to repay the debt we owe to those who have worn the uniform, but today, Congress delivered on a promise to our veterans and their families.”