The stopgap funding bill passed by the Senate and headed for President Donald Trump’s signature would cut the $22.8 billion in funding for illnesses linked to burn pits beginning in fiscal year 2026, incurring the fury of Democrats, The Hill reported.
The continuing resolution, which passed Friday with the help of Senate Democrats, reverts federal spending to 2024 levels. The expanded benefits package for veterans, called the Toxic Exposures Fund, sickened by military toxic exposures was set to begin Oct. 1.
"They cut $23 billion from their own bill they passed last year. You can’t make this stuff up,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a post to X.
Republicans have argued that the TEF, created with the passage of the 2022 PACT Act, was a slush fund for the Veterans Administration without any oversight. Republicans pushed to move the money into the standard VA budgeting process, the Military Times reported. Or, the money can be added to other parts of the budget in subsequent spending bills, according to the report.
“It is critical that Legionnaires and veterans across the country have access to the care and benefits that resulted from toxic exposure during their service,” Cole Lyle, director of Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation for The American Legion, said in a statement to The Hill.