- The Senate voted 86-11 on Tuesday to approve the PACT Act.
- The bill would increase health care funding and access to the military.
- All 11 votes against the measure came from Republicans.
Eleven Republican senators on Tuesday voted against the PACT Act, a bipartisan measure meant to help veterans exposed to toxic chemicals while deployed overseas.
The bill passed the Senate in an 86-11 vote a week after 41 Republicans voted to end the final measure, raising concerns about its cost. The 25 Republicans who voted against the bill last week voted for a similar version of the bill in June.
Efforts to block the law have sparked uproar among veterans groups, with critics arguing that GOP opposition to another measure, which includes massive amounts of money to fight climate change and poor health care, is hostage to the military. expenses.
On Tuesday, the 11 votes absent included:
- Mitt Romney of Utah
- Rand Paul of Kentucky
- Mike Crapo of Idaho
- James Lankford of Oklahoma
- Mike Lee of Utah
- Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming
- James Risch of Idaho
- Richard Shelby of Alabama
- Pennsylvania Pat Toomey
- Alabama’s Tommy Tuberville
- Tom Tillis of North Carolina
All 11 senators also voted against the bill in June.
