Burr, not Tillis, helps pass bill for veterans exposed to Camp Lejeune’s toxic water

Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, made an eleventh hour change Tuesday night to his previous votes and helped pass a bill that aids veterans exposed to toxic chemicals at Camp Lejeune.

Sen. Thom Tillis, another North Carolinian Republican, did not.

In an 86-11 vote the U.S. Senate passed the PACT Act, a bill that aims to provide health care to veterans exposed to toxic substances while serving without forcing them to prove exposure before receiving care. It was combined with another bill that gave veterans exposed to toxic water on Camp Lejeune the ability to sue the federal government.

“This is a wonderful moment,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “Especially for all the people who made this happen, who are observing it. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

The vote came just days after Republican senators shocked veterans around the country by blocking the bill after the House sent it back to the chamber on a technical correction.

The Senate originally passed the bill 88-14 in June, and sent it to the House where it passed 256-174 with a technical correction that needed to be approved by the Senate.

Since the substance of the bill did not change, senators were expected to pass the bill quickly last Thursday. But just moments before the PACT Act came back up for a vote, Schumer announced he made a surprise deal with Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, and the Biden administration on an inflation, healthcare and climate change bill.

Republicans were blindsided by the deal and voted against the PACT Act 55-42 in what many believe was retaliation by Republicans for the Schumer-Manchin deal. The bill needed 60 votes to pass.

Tillis and Burr remained consistent in voting against the bill, despite having helped draft large portions of it, including the portion involving Camp Lejeune.

The PACT Act is known nationwide for seeking to help veterans exposed to toxic burn pits while serving in the military.

But for North Carolina the bill has a different meaning. From August 1953 to December 1987, military members on Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River were exposed to trichlorethylene, perchloroethylene, benzene and vinyl chloride in the base’s drinking water. The toxins led to birth defects, high-risks of cancer and other health conditions.

A law specific to North Carolina prevented people exposed to toxins from suing more than 10 years after the date of their first exposure. Tillis helped do away with that law as state House speaker in the N.C. legislature, but it wasn’t retroactive. Tillis intended portions of the PACT Act to aid veterans who were previously excluded from assistive programs.

But as the PACT Act neared the finish lines, Tillis said he received information that made him wary of whether Veterans Affair had the resources to implement the bill without creating backlogs in claims and delays in veterans receiving health care.

“Congress has an obligation to ensure the VA can effectively and efficiently implement any comprehensive toxic exposure legislation and, unfortunately, I continue to have reservations about the Department’s ability to do so,” Tillis said Tuesday night in a written statement.

Despite Tillis’ concerns the bill now moves to President Joe Biden for his signature. Biden has said he looks forward to signing the bill and passing it into law.