Jon Stewart, who has lobbied for bipartisan bill to expand care for veterans, condemns ‘stab-vets-in-the-back senators’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...bill-healthcare-military-veterans-jon-stewart The comedian Jon Stewart ripped into Republican senators on Wednesday, after they abruptly halted a bipartisan bill that would expand healthcare access for military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. The former host of the Daily Show, who now hosts The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+, has lobbied for the bill. He called those who switched their votes “stab-vets-in-the-back senators”. He added: “PS: fuck the Republican caucus and their empty promise to our veterans.” The measure, called the Honoring our Pact Act, would make it easier for veterans to access military care related to exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam and toxins from pits used to burn military waste in Iraq and Afghanistan. A version of the bill passed the Senate 84-14 earlier this year but was sent back to the House for some technical corrections. It easily passed there. But on Wednesday, 25 Republican senators who previously supported the measure declined to move it forward. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, told CNN Republicans did not back the measure because Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, was blocking votes on amendments Republicans wanted. Cornyn also said Republicans wanted to negotiate more, in order to cut out some of the mandatory spending contained in the bill. Stewart called that justification “bullshit”. Republicans blocked the veterans measure just after Schumer, from New York, and Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, announced they had reached a deal on a sweeping tax and climate measure. The Schumer-Manchin announcement reportedly caught Republicans off guard after another big measure, to support the US semiconductor industry, passed the chamber earlier in the day. In a speech on the Senate floor, Jon Tester, the Montana Democrat who chairs the Senate veteran’s affairs committee, said: “Putting this policy off does nobody any good whatsoever.” Tester also issued a strongly worded statement, lamenting an “eleventh-hour act of cowardice” and saying: “Republicans chose today to rob generations of toxic-exposed veterans of the healthcare and benefits they so desperately need – and make no mistake, more veterans will suffer and die as a result.” Stewart also criticized Patrick Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, who urged his colleagues to halt the bill because of the way it allocated discretionary funds, Roll Call reported. Stewart wrote: “Congratulations Senator Toomey. You successfully used the Byzantine Senate rules to keep sick veterans suffering!!!! Kudos! “I’m sure you’ll celebrate by kicking a dog or punching a baby … or whatever terrible people do for fun!!!!!”
So much for the so-called pro-military party, eh? Truly the party of Trump, who lives by the code, "What have you done for me lately (as in today!)?"
We all know republicans really don't stand for the values they claim they do.The party of family values,miltary/ veterans,fiscal responsibility etc love the multi divorced sleeps with porn stars has over 50 sexual allegations sexual deviant who trashes POWs and Gold Star families and turned a 600 billion dollar deficit into a 4 trillion dollar deficit
They only like troops that weren't captured or shot down. And of course they love The Confederacy who who killed hundreds of thousands of US troops to keep black people as slaves.
Yes. John Stewart is angry. He put years into lobbying for the bill which was supposed to make him a hero. But dems tried to reclassify the bill so that it was not funded out of a pot which they want to use for lefty junk. And yes. The current and continuing passage of lefty "spending our way to prosperity" bills by Biden has caused many senators to just turn off the faucet wherever they can which can and will include many worthwhile programs because the lefties have already spent the funding elsewhere. More to come.
I will note that many military veterans in our area of North Carolina are very angry with the Republicans for not passing this bill --- and most of these veterans are Republicans. They view this as a betrayal by the Senators.