Mark Takano: “It is now time for the Members of this body to answer a simple question: Am I willing to support our troops and honor…”

“It is now time for the Members of this body to answer a simple question: Am I willing to support our troops and honor our Nation's promise to them? This bill addresses the true cost of war, and opposing it would be a vote against our servicemembers and veterans. Such a vote would be inconsistent with the thank-yous and patriotic displays so many of my colleagues offer on Veterans Day. Veterans want action, and they deserve our action. We made a promise to deliver comprehensive toxic exposure legislation, and I intend to keep that promise. The Honoring our PACT Act will address the full scope of issues affecting toxic-exposed veterans' access to VA care and benefits while reforming VA's presumptive decisionmaking process. It will expand VA healthcare eligibility for over 3.5 million veterans exposed to burn pits and establish a presumption of service connection for over 23 respiratory illnesses and cancers. There is no other toxic exposure legislation in Congress like this one in scope or in soundness. Before I close, I must emphasize something essential. We cannot renege on our responsibility to toxic-exposed veterans because of any perceived sticker shock. Cries for offsets and pay-fors did not stop Congress from passing a $1.9 trillion tax cut for corporations and the wealthy in 2017. Over the past 20 years, Congress and our country made the choice to spend trillions on other priorities while sending servicemembers into harm's way at the cost of $6.4 trillion.…”