Ted Cruz thinks Jon Stewart is a funny guy so he'll definitely enjoy Jon's point-by-point breakdown of the lies Cruz is spouting about the PACT Act. The bill, which would give health care to sick veterans, is being held up by Cruz and his Senate Republican colleagues who are giving patently false reasons for blocking the bill.

Jon called in to Fox News to call out Republican Senator Pat Toomey's claim that a budget gimmick was snuck into the PACT Act at the last minute. The Act which provides health care to seriously ill veterans already passed the Senate once 84-14. And now Toomey and his Republican colleagues are refusing to allow final passage of the bill, even though it contains the same exact language from the first bill. This is robbing sick veterans of care they urgently need and time they do not have.

Republican Senators have been criticized for fist bumping on the Senate floor after the GOP blocked a bill that would have expanded healthcare coverage for military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their service.

On Wednesday night, the Senate failed to pass a Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act in a 55 to 42 vote.

All but one of the 42 Senators who voted against the bill were Republicans, including 25 who previously supported it in June. The Senate had to vote for the PACT Act again because of a technical change the House made to the bill.

After the vote, a group of Republican Senators were seen shaking hands on the chamber floor, with Texas' Ted Cruz and Montana's Steve Daines also giving each other a fist bump.

A clip of the pair bumping fists was shared on Twitter by the Senate Democrats, along with the caption: "Senate Republicans BLOCKED the PACT Act, critical health care for veterans with illness caused by toxic burn pits. Even though many Republicans supported it just weeks ago. And they celebrated."

The clip has been viewed more than one million times since it was posted on Twitter.

The Montana Democrat Party shared a similar video along with the caption "Steve Danies BETRAYED sick veterans and CELEBRATED it with a fist bump. This is how Daines treats our veterans. It's a game to him."

MSNBC's Chris Hayes said the GOP Senators decided to vote against what was previously a "broadly bipartisan" bill to help war veterans in retaliation for the Democrats waiting for the CHIPs Act to pass before revealing that Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer had come to an agreement on what was essentially the long-negotiated Build Back Better Act.

In June, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell threatened that the GOP would not help pass the CHIPs Act if Democrats went forward with the reconciliation package, a statement he made while Manchin was still objecting to it.

"Republicans were not happy, they threw a temper tantrum," Hayes said Thursday night. "They feel like they got played, so they're looking around with their anger, who to take it out on, and what they did was—I'm not making this up—they decided to punish U.S. war vets suffering the aftereffects of toxic fumes."

Hayes then played the clip of Cruz and Daines fist bumping as the "no" votes were being read out.

"'We'll show them, those vets whose lungs have the effects of toxic fumes they inhaled while fighting our wars.' Truly shameless stuff," Hayes added.

In a statement to Newsweek, a spokesman for Cruz said:

"Senator Cruz is a strong supporter of the PACT Act and our nation's veterans. However, this version of the PACT Act contains an irresponsible Democratic provision allowing Congress to recklessly spend an additional $400 billion on programs totally unrelated to our veterans. The Senator and his Republican colleagues are working to advance the bill while removing that provision. Democrats were aware of this concern before yesterday's vote but ignored it and refused to allow a vote to fix the bill. That refusal is why the bill is currently stalled. Democrats must work with Republicans and fix this issue to prevent inflationary spending that will hurt all Americans. Once that happens, the PACT Act will quickly become law."

Daines has been contacted for comment.

GOP Senators celebrated blocking a critical veteran health care bill with a fist bump on the Senate floor on Wednesday. Activist Susan Zeier, mother-in-law of late veteran Heath Robinson, for whom the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act — or PACT Act — is named

Watch: GOP Senators Slammed For Fist Bump After Blocking Vet Health Bill

GOP Senators celebrated blocking a critical veteran health care bill with a fist bump on the Senate floor on Wednesday. Activist Susan Zeier, mother-in-law of late veteran Heath Robinson, for whom the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act — or PACT Act — is named, joins The ReidOut. The PACT Act would have expanded medical coverage for millions of combatants exposed to toxic burn pits during their service. Rick Wilson, co-founder of The Lincoln Project, also joins Joy Reid to discuss.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

August 10, 2022

Heather Cox Richardson

Today, President Joe Biden signed into law the now-bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022. It will expand medical coverage for veterans exposed to burn pits during their service. This law is named for Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, an Ohio Army National Guardsman who was diagnosed with a rare cancer after his service, during which he was exposed to toxic substances in the burn pits. He died in 2020, leaving behind his wife and his 8-year-old daughter. This law is personal for President Biden. His son Beau also came home from military service that had exposed him to toxic burn pits in Iraq, and he, too, died of cancer—brain cancer, in his case—at the age of 46. Also today, the Department of Labor released a report showing that there was zero inflation last month (expectations were for an increase of 0.2%). That means that dropping prices, primarily for gasoline, canceled out the price of other things rising. In addition, core inflation, which excludes food and energy—always volatile—dropped significantly for the first time in months. Inflation for the year remains at a high 8.5%. Biden was pleased enough about the new numbers that he talked about them before his remarks at the bill signing. Putting the lower inflation numbers together with last week’s booming report of 528,000 new jobs last month and 3.5% unemployment—the lowest in decades—“it underscores the kind of economy we’ve been building,” he said. “That’s what happens when you build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out. The wealthy do very well, and everyone has a chance. It gives everyone a chance to make progress.” Today, the Justice Department charged a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of plotting to murder Trump’s national security advisor John Bolton, likely in retaliation for the January 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani. “The Justice Department has the solemn duty to defend our citizens from hostile governments who seek to hurt or kill them,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division said. Bolton issued a statement thanking the Justice Department, the FBI, and the Secret Service. Federal investigators also delivered subpoenas today to several Republicans in the Pennsylvania House and Senate, not necessarily because they are targets of an investigation, but because they may have important information surrounding the efforts of Representative Scott Perry (R-PA) to gather fake electors to overturn the 2020 election. Perry announced yesterday that the FBI had taken his phone. The fallout continues from the FBI search of former president Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. Trump and his supporters have begun to circle around the idea that the FBI agents “planted” evidence while they were there, which suggests they’re afraid of what’s going to turn up. While right-wing figures are saying Trump’s lawyers were not present during the search, two of them—Christina Bobb and Lindsey Halligan—confirmed to Politico that they were there. Remember, while the Department of Justice can’t say what was in the warrant or what they took, Trump could but is choosing not to. Meanwhile, there are reports that a close associate flipped on Trump to tell the Department of Justice what was at Mar-a-Lago that they might want to see. It is crucial to remember that anything we hear is coming from Trump supporters; the Department of Justice is not talking. So rumors are just that—rumors—although this one has been reported in multiple places, so I am making a note of it. What is not just a rumor is that Trump testified under oath today in the civil case being investigated by New York attorney general Letitia James regarding the widely different valuations of Trump’s properties for purposes of taxes versus security for loans. Trump answered a single question only about his name, then pleaded his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent to avoid incriminating himself. He said he “declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution.” Then, from about 9:30 to around 3:00, aside from breaks, he responded to questions with “Same answer.” Like his father, Eric Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment during his October 2020 deposition in the same case, pleading the Fifth more than 500 times. In civil cases, jurors can make negative inferences from an invocation of the Fifth Amendment. If James brings charges, today’s deposition will strengthen her case. More than that, though, Trump made history today by becoming the first U.S. president to plead the Fifth. It is an astonishing thing to see that a former president, the person who was responsible for faithfully executing the laws of our nation, has invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

—

Notes:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/10/fact-sheet-president-biden-signs-the-pact-act-and-delivers-on-his-promise-to-americas-veterans/

Mike Konczal @rortybombForget the zero headline; core inflation takes a dive last month, coming in at an annualized 3%, driven by a decrease in services. Compare it to the ~5% average it's been at since October 2021. One month doesn't make a trend, but the most encouraging print I could have imagined.

577 Retweets1,672 Likes

August 10th 2022

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/08/10/remarks-by-president-biden-at-signing-of-s-3373-the-sergeant-first-class-heath-robinson-honoring-our-promises-to-address-comprehensive-toxics-pact-act-of-2022/

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/member-irans-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-irgc-charged-plot-murder-former-national

John Bolton @AmbJohnBoltonI wish to thank the Justice Dept for initiating the criminal proceeding unsealed today;  the FBI for its diligence in discovering and tracking the Iranian regime’s criminal threat to American citizens;  and the Secret Service for providing protection against Tehran’s efforts.

308 Retweets819 Likes

August 10th 2022

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/09/fbi-dozen-boxes-mar-a-lago-trump-lawyer-00050730

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/10/nyregion/trump-testimony-investigation-news

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-19/eric-trump-invoked-fifth-amendment-about-500-times-n-y-ag-says#xj4y7vzkg

George Conway🌻 @gtconway3dYep.  And in any civil case that AG James may bring against Trump, the finder of fact is free to draw adverse inferences from his invocation of the Fifth Amendment's protections. The Fifth Amendment ensures that people are not forced to incriminate themselves. But you don’t take the Fifth if you didn’t do anything wrong. https://t.co/xIKupKNMSo

Daniel Goldman @danielsgoldman

800 Retweets5,298 Likes

August 10th 2022

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fabricated-claim-fbi-planted-evidence-mar-lago-taking-right-storm

https://www.axios.com/2022/08/10/inflation-cpi-report-july

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2022/08/fbi-delivers-subpoenas-to-several-pa-republican-lawmakers-sources-say.html

https://www.cbs46.com/2022/08/10/sen-lindsey-graham-no-show-scheduled-fulton-county-court-appearance/

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/09/politics/scott-perry-fbi-seize-cellphone/index.html

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

VA Processing Claims for Terminally Ill Veterans under PACT Act

David W. Magann Veterans Disability Advocate Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) February 28, 2023 – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it would begin processing PACT Act benefits for qualifying terminally ill veterans. The bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics, PACT Act, is one of the largest healthcare and veterans benefits…

View On WordPress

BIDEN PACT ACT: Landmark Act Moves Veterans With Toxic Exposure Cancer to Front of Line

BIDEN PACT ACT: Landmark Act Moves Veterans With Cancer to Front of Line @potus

  November 8, 2022~The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will give priority to veterans with cancer when it begins processing benefits claims under the landmark toxic exposure law signed this summer, VA Secretary Denis McDonough announced Monday.   On Jan. 1, the VA will start processing claims for benefits filed under the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act.  The…

View On WordPress

Should USA cancer patients have access to affordable healthcare?

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States as of 2020, after heart disease. It is projected that there will be approximately 1.9 million new cancer diagnoses and over 600,000 cancer deaths this year. The overall age-adjusted cancer mortality rate has been declining over the last 30 years, largely due to successful public health campaigns that reduced the smoking rate, greater availability of more effective treatment options, and an increase in prevention and early detection efforts.

President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot aims to cut the age-adjusted death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years and to improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer. Achieving this goal requires actions to expand health coverage and treatment affordability. This blog discusses three significant ways in which recently-enacted laws expand health coverage and affordability for Americans, including many individuals with cancer. Together, these measures will save lives by improving health care access and affordability for people with serious illnesses and by reducing barriers to preventive care.

Expanding access to affordable health coverage

Expanding health coverage allows more Americans to receive preventive cancer screenings, thus catching cancer early when its spread throughout the body is still limited and the available treatments are more effective at increasing survival probability and improving quality of life. Making health coverage more affordable also contributes to closing inequalities in access to cancer detection and treatment. Accessing early cancer detection services is particularly important, as many people postponed getting screened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent survey finds that about one-third of adults with health insurance worry about affording their monthly premiums, and the most commonly reported reason for lack of health coverage is the scarcity of affordable options. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) provided additional subsidies for individuals obtaining health coverage through the ACA marketplaces, increasing the number of individuals obtaining coverage without any cost to them. This led to a record 14.5 million people signing up for ACA marketplace plans, and most people paid less for coverage than before. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) preserves these health coverage gains by extending the additional premium subsidies through 2025.

Individuals with high disease burdens often face high health care costs, even when they are insured. CEA estimates suggest that extension of the ACA enhanced premium subsidies means that up to 560,000 nonelderly individuals with cancer living in the United States will continue to save on health insurance premiums (Figure 1). On average, people save about $800 per year on health insurance premiums due to the enhanced subsidies. These extra subsidies will also allow up to 3 million Americans to keep their health insurance coverage, thus retaining access to crucial preventive care services and treatments if they are diagnosed with cancer.

Expanding health coverage and disability benefits to veterans

While serving the United States, many veterans are exposed to potentially toxic and hazardous substances. Some toxic-exposed veterans have developed serious health conditions, such as cancer years after initial exposure. The Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act expands eligibility for health coverage and disability benefits to veterans and their survivors exposed to toxic substances while serving our country.

An estimated 5 million veterans who conducted certain military operations or served in certain overseas locations presumed to have toxic exposure will now be eligible to enroll in VA health care and receive hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for any illness. Expanding eligibility for health care will allow veterans greater access to preventive care such as cancer screenings, as well as access to treatment options–aiding veterans who might develop illnesses in the future. Veterans who served in locations where presumed toxic exposures occurred and then developed one of the 23 presumed service-connected health conditions can more easily receive disability benefits. Many of these 23 health conditions are forms of cancer such as lymphoma, kidney cancer, and brain cancer. By defining these conditions presumptive for service connection, veterans with these conditions will gain access to health care and financial support more quickly.

Our Mission

NCCS’ mission is to advocate for quality cancer care for all people touched by cancer. Founded by and for cancer survivors, NCCS created the widely accepted definition of survivorship and defines someone as a cancer survivor from the time of diagnosis and for the balance of life.

NCCS has worked with legislators and policy makers to represent cancer patients and survivors in efforts to improve their quality of care and quality of life after diagnosis. Our unique niche in the cancer advocacy landscape is promoting policy change to ensure quality cancer care. Our vision is to be an advocacy organization that reflects the needs of all cancer survivors to effect policy change at the national level.

To know more visit: https://canceradvocacy.org/policy/quality-cancer-care/

Veteran Health Indiana to Host Virtual Veteran Town Hall on PACT Act 2022 Veteran Health Indiana will host a Virtual Veteran Town Hall on Monday, October 17, at 6 p.m., to discuss with all Veterans the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022, which was signed into law on August 10, 2022. The new law expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances and it empowers VA to provide generations of Veterans – and their survivors – with the care and benefits they have earned. Please join us online at URL https://bit.ly/3fEGedX on October 17 for an overview of the PACT Act, how it will help VA serve Veterans, explaining the new and expanded health care and benefits options outlined in the law, and to answer any questions you or your family may have. To learn more about the PACT Act, visit www.va.gov/PACT. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cjo96BRNQNi/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

GOP Senators celebrated blocking a critical veteran health care bill with a fist bump on the Senate floor on Wednesday. Activist Susan Zeier, mother-in-law of late veteran Heath Robinson, for whom the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act — or PACT Act — is named, joins The ReidOut. The PACT Act would have expanded medical coverage for millions of combatants exposed to toxic burn pits during their service. Rick Wilson, co-founder of The Lincoln Project

This is the GOP in a nutshell!. They don't give a rats ass about the american people!

"Today, President Joe Biden signed into law the now-bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022. It will expand medical coverage for veterans exposed to burn pits during their service. 

This law is personal for President Biden. His son Beau also came home from military service that had exposed him to toxic burn pits in Iraq, and he, too, died of cancer—brain cancer, in his case—at the age of 46."

Senate Republicans initially voted against this bill out of spite, and then changed their votes to yes after the public complained.

"Also today, the Department of Labor released a report showing that there was zero inflation last month

Putting the lower inflation numbers together with last week’s booming report of 528,000 new jobs last month and 3.5% unemployment—the lowest in decades "

"Trump answered a single question only about his name, then pleaded his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent to avoid incriminating himself. 

Like his father, Eric Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment during his October 2020 deposition in the same case, pleading the Fifth more than 500 times.

Trump made history today by becoming the first U.S. president to plead the Fifth. It is an astonishing thing to see that a former president, the person who was responsible for faithfully executing the laws of our nation, has invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination."

Biden expected to sign burn pit bill with veterans present

Biden expected to sign burn pit bill with veterans present

(NewsNation) — U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the PACT Act — also known as the “burn pit bill” — Wednesday, after the bill nearly died in the Senate when 25 Republicans rejected it. The bill, officially titled the “Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promises to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022,” will help veterans exposed to toxic burn pits while serving…

View On WordPress

..."

“Today America is delivering, delivering, and I honest to God believe that 50, 75, 100 years from now from people who will look back on this week, they’ll know that we met this moment,” Biden said at an event on the White House South Lawn.

The President, who recently emerged from isolation after a rebound case of Covid-19, coughed throughout his speech.

A major focus of the bill is on making the US more competitive with China. The US was once a leader in semiconductor manufacturing but now many American manufacturers import chips made elsewhere as other countries like China ramp up production. The share of semiconductor manufacturing capacity located in the US has decreased from 37% in 1990 to 12% today, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

The event was attended by union leaders, industry executives from companies such as HP and Intel, congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle and state elected officials. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo also spoke at the event.

According to the White House, companies this week announced nearly $50 billion in additional investments in American semiconductor manufacturing as a result of the newly passed legislation.

“Micron is announcing a $40 billion investment in memory chip manufacturing, critical for computers and electronic devices, which will create up to 40,000 new jobs” in construction and manufacturing, a White House fact sheet says. “This investment alone will bring the U.S. market share of memory chip production from 2 percent to 10 percent.”

Additionally, Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries are announcing a new partnership that includes $4.2 billion to manufacture chips.

Later on in the day, Biden will sign the ratification of the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO. The addition of the two traditionally neutral countries to the alliance represented a major foreign policy accomplishment for Biden during a trip to Europe for summits in June.

And on Wednesday, the President will sign the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promises to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 into law. The legislation expands health care benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service.

The bill widely expands health care resources and benefits to those exposed to burn pits and could provide coverage for up to 3.5 million veterans who qualify. It adds conditions related to burn pit and toxic exposure, including hypertension, to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ list of illnesses that have been incurred or exacerbated during military service. Biden has long speculated that burn pits played a role in the cancer that killed his son, Beau, in 2015.

The bill signings – along with other related accomplishments like the recent targeted killing of Osama bin Laden’s successor and continued declining gas prices – amount to the possibility that Biden may get the pre-midterms boost Democrats have been hoping for.

With the 2022 midterm elections less than 100 days away, and as Americans have grown discontented through a summer of major economic and political changes, Biden’s political standing among the public has declined.

A CNN poll released in mid-July found that nearly 7 in 10 Americans had said that Biden had not been paying enough attention to the nation’s most pressing problems. The President’s approval rating, in the poll, stood at 38%. And at the end of July, another CNN poll found that 75% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters wanted the party to nominate someone other than Biden in the 2024 presidential election.

The events come after the President had been isolating at the White House while dealing with a rebound case of Covid-19. Biden, who is at increased risk for a more severe case of Covid-19 due to his age, was cleared to emerge from isolation on Sunday following a second negative Covid-19 test.

Before the month’s end, Biden could have some other major opportunities to claim political victories.

Biden faces the real prospect of soon signing into law the Inflation Reduction Act – a version of his landmark climate change and health care bill.

The sweeping bill passed in the Senate along party lines and the House is expected to vote on it later this week.

The legislation would represent the largest climate investment in US history and make major changes to health policy by giving Medicare the power for the first time to negotiate the prices of certain prescription drugs and extending expiring health care subsidies for three years. The legislation would reduce the deficit, be paid for through new taxes – including a 15% minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% tax on stock buybacks – and boost the Internal Revenue Service’s ability to collect.

It would raise over $700 billion in government revenue over 10 years and spend over $430 billion to reduce carbon emissions and extend subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and use the rest of the new revenue to reduce the deficit.

Before the month’s end, the President will also have to make a decision about whether to extend the nation’s ongoing mass federal student loan forbearance.

The President is also weighing the possibility of canceling some student loans. It’s an issue that’s sharply divided among partisan and generational lines, but one that could act as yet another political boon among some voters as the country continues to grapple with inflation raising the cost of everyday goods and services."

Blindsided veterans erupt in fury after Senate Republicans suddenly tank PACT Act

Blindsided veterans erupt in fury after Senate Republicans suddenly tank PACT Act

Blindsided veterans erupted in anger and indignation Thursday after Senate Republicans suddenly tanked a widely supported bipartisan measure that would have expanded medical coverage for millions of combatants exposed to toxic burn pits during their service.  Supporters of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act — or PACT Act —…

View On WordPress

Cynthia Lummis votes against health care benefits for military veterans

Cynthia Lummis votes against health care benefits for military veterans

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 in a bipartisan effort to focus more on health care for veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their military service. According to Newsweek, “The law provides psychiatric services, counseling and other forms of medical care through the…

View On WordPress