Jon Stewart is Right to Be Pissed About the PACT Act

Jon Stewart went on a media blitz over the weekend, appearing on everything from MSNBC and Meet the Press to conservative channels like Fox News and Newsmax to call out Republican Senators like Ted Cruz for torpedoing a piece of legislation titled the PACT Act that provides healthcare for U.S. veterans.

He even made his own video, which he posted on socials. (More on that below.) Which is all to say: Jon Stewart is pissed—and rightfully so. But maybe you're seeing a lot of Jon Stewart headlines and are just...confused. Here's what went down.

What is the PACT Act?

In a speech on the Senate floor, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) described the PACT Act as “groundbreaking legislation” that grants veterans expedited access to healthcare for exposure to toxic chemicals.

The bill is named after Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson who served in Iraq and died in 2020 from exposure to toxins emitted by burn pits during the Iraq War. Trash burning was a common practice during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Military personnel frequently used burn pits to get rid of trash, munition, food waste, human waste, medical waste, petroleum, plastics, and wood.

Despite the clear link between exposure to burn pits and poor health, veterans still struggle to secure healthcare for related issues. In July, the Associated Press reported that the VA denies more than 70 percent of burn pit disability claims due to lack of evidence. The PACT Act would rectify this injustice by forcing the VA to presume that certain illnesses, including nine types of rare respiratory cancers, were caused by burn pit exposure, thus eliminating the burden of proof and streamlining access to live-saving healthcare.

Why is Jon Stewart so mad at Ted Cruz?

Stewart has been a vocal supporter of the PACT Act since 2020 and has a long history of advocating for legislation related to first responders and veterans. He previously championed a bill that granted lifelong compensation and healthcare to 9/11 first responders. It passed the Senate in 2019, 92-2.

The PACT Act seemed destined for a similarly successful, bipartisan victory until Thursday, when 25 Republican senators who previously voted in favor of the bill in June (a technical change the House made to the bill required the Senate to pass it again) changed their minds and voted against it. This sudden change in heart didn’t sit well with Stewart. He smelled something fishy and immediately accused senators like Ted Cruz of playing political games with veterans’ lives. “The bill that Ted Cruz voted yes on had the exact same funding provisions as the bill he voted no on, '' said Stewart on Meet the Press. “It’s the exact same bill. None of this makes any sense.”

Stewart also attacked Cruz on Twitter in a series of posts and videos in which he took issue with Cruz’s sudden interest in how pre-existing veteran support spending (about $400 billions worth) is categorized. Citing an argument first expressed by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), Cruz alleges that the PACT Act includes a “gimmick” that would allow Democrats to go on a massive spending spree by recategorizing the already authorized spending as mandatory (as opposed to discretionary). Mandatory spending isn’t subjected to annual congressional appropriations.

“This is no trick,” Stewart said, in response to a TMZ video of Cruz claiming the Democrats are trying to pull a fast one on the American people. “... It’s always been mandatory spending so that the government can’t just cut off their funding at any point. No trick. No gimmick. It’s been there the whole fucking time.”

What’s Republican opposition to the PACT Act really about?

Cruz claims to oppose the PACT Act because of all the pork that’s stuffed inside it, but given that it’s the same bill he already voted for, very few people believe him. Video footage of Cruz and Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) celebrating the bill’s defeat with a fist-bump has cast even more doubt on their explanation. Sen. Murphy and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), plus a handful of pundits, have proposed an alternate theory.

“What happened in 2 weeks that convinced 30 Republicans who previously thought it was a good idea to help veterans to decide instead to tank a bill that was helping veterans?” asked Sen. Murphy in his Senate floor speech. Well, the most obvious answer is the surprise announcement of the Inflation Reduction Act, a compromise bill proposed by Sen. Joe Manchin that’s been hailed by the press as a major legislative victory for the Democrats. You know who doesn’t like Democrat victories? Republicans. Reacting to the Republicans’ blocking of the PACT Act on the PBS Newshour, David Brooks summed up the potential hideousness of the situation saying, “If the votes changed because Mitch McConnell said, ‘ We need to screw somebody,’ well that would just be appalling.”

Despite the bill's recent failure, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to bring the PACT Act up again for a vote this week before the Senate breaks for its August recess.

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