Veterans should never become political pawns

Congress is known for its partisan bickering and its inability to get anything done. The legislative branch of our country, in the last couple of decades, is known for one side of the chamber pointing at the other side and screaming, “Demon! Demon!” Which side of the chamber does so varies, depending on the issue.

That’s why it was a pleasant surprise recently to wake up and see that the U.S. Senate passed the Honoring our Pact Act by an 86-11 vote. The bill allows for health care resources and benefits for those veterans who, during the service, were exposed to burn pits and exposed to toxic chemicals and conditions. It’s estimated that about 3.5 million veterans are suffering ill effects from the burn pits, including cancer, mental defects and more but the Department of Veterans Affairs was not addressing their illnesses until this act came about.

Anytime you can pass a bill that isn’t restricted to party lines, either Democrat or Republican, is a rarity. Anytime that bill is a benefit to a huge segment of the population, the odds are akin to coming across a unicorn in Times Square being led via a golden bridle by the tooth fairy.

This is not one of those times. It should have been, considering the bill addressed the men and women who step up and become part of our armed services, who protect us from the countries who see the good things in America and consider them abomination. Many people proudly enroll in our military, whether by land, sea or air, and vow to keep the rest of us safe — often doing so with little acknowledgement and low pay but with a sense of pride that they’re part of something bigger than themselves.

While many finish their service in as good a shape as when they started, others are not so fortunate. Aside from those who die in service to our country, there are many who come back with lost limbs, blind, paraplegic, etc., and then it should be this country’s responsibility to take care of them. Period.

However, we’re a little behind the times when it comes to caring for our veterans, and it’s important that, when we find out something is not being done to heal and comfort our men and women who wore the military uniform, steps are taken to correct that mistake. The Honoring our Pact Act does this, and it should have been a slam dunk to get this through all the bureaucratic red tape. It was for the House of Representatives.

It wasn’t for the Senate. While it ultimately did the right thing for our veterans in the end, the bill turned into another political football, with our veterans being treated as pawns by bureaucrats, most of whom never spent a day serving on a military base or fighting for their lives in a war zone.

The recent vote to pass the bill was preceded by political posturing from 25 Republicans a week earlier, who had voted to support the measure in June but blocked its passage at the end of July. That brought out protesting veterans, celebrities and others who considered this a slap in the face to veterans.

Take this statement from Jon Stewart, former talk show host turned veterans activist, about the delay in approving the Pact Act: “Eventually is not OK. Tell someone with cancer that’s been fighting this for years, that eventually they’ll get the help that they need. That is not an acceptable answer. It is despicable to continue to use Americans, men and women who are fighting for this country, as a political cause for anger you have about separate issues.”

The Republicans in question were dickering over the fact that Democrats announced they had reached a deal on a major tax and climate bill, according to The Guardian, putting them through the budget reconciliation process that allows the measure to bypass Republicans. A different bill caused those 25 Republicans to act like schoolyard bullies, according to Stars and Stripes, with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas fist bumping Sen. Steve Daines of Montana after he cast a no vote.

Fist bumping over being cruel to our veterans — how do these politicians sleep at night? Doing this sort of thing as many veterans are lying in hospital beds because of their exposure to these burn pits and others are at home worrying about how the medical bills will get paid instead of focusing on healing is reprehensible.

Don’t get me wrong. The Democrats don’t come off as angels in this saga due to the tax and climate bill shenanigans. However, Republicans could have figured out a method of political comeuppance that didn’t hurt our veterans, the folks who fought for their freedom to be stupid, petty and cruel.

In the end, the veterans are getting the help they need, and for that, we should be thankful. Under the normal rules of engagement in Washington, the veterans could have just as easily still been waiting for deliverance from their agony as ignorant politicians continued their despicable gamesmanship indefinitely, so the fact that the solution has been reached is a miracle.

Still, the fact that it took a week of Congress being Congress to reach this point should not be ignored. Our veterans have suffered long enough, and they deserve much better gratitude than the politicians are exhibiting.

Lee Pulaski is the city editor for NEW Media. Readers can contact him at lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com.