Defending his actions Sunday, Toomey said he is working to amend the bill in a way that “would not change one penny of any spending on any veterans program,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union “.
“What I’m trying to do is change a government accounting methodology that’s designed to allow our Democratic colleagues to go on an unrelated $400 billion spending spree that has nothing to do with veterans and will not life in the veterans space,” he. said.
“My amendment, honest people recognize, will have no effect on the amount of money or the circumstances under which the money is being spent on veterans,” he said. “What I want to do is treat it for government accounting purposes the way we’ve always treated it for government accounting purposes.”
He added that if his amendment passes, he will vote for the bill.
On the same CNN program, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said Toomey’s delayed action was petty and unnecessary.
“In terms of what happens, in terms of the amendments and everything else up there … what I would say is, these people have waited long enough. Let’s do it,” he said. “I think they should just get on with it, have the vote.”
McDonough said the accounting changes Toomey is seeking could hurt veterans’ care. “I can’t in good conscience do that because the result of that will be rationing of vet care, which I just can’t sign up for,” he said.
Incineration pits are used by the US military to dispose of waste at military sites outside the United States. Smoke from those disposal sites has been seen to cause long-term respiratory illness in exposed soldiers.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Stewart expressed cynicism about the Republican response, saying it was simply a power move.
“We’ve been through this with 9/11 first responders,” he said.
“What the Toomey Amendment wants to do is make sure our sick and dying veterans have the satisfaction that our 9/11 first responders at Ground Zero were forced to return to Washington, hats in hand, filled with cancer and to march through the halls of Kodra begging for money every year.”
