Democrats’ version of sweeping veterans benefits bill blocked in Senate

WASHINGTON — Arguing that the nation’s veterans “should never be handed an invoice when the cost of war comes due,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., led an unsuccessful campaign to bring an amended Take Care of America’s Veterans Act to a floor vote by replacing a contested funding measure with unspent defense dollars.

Blumenthal’s request Wednesday afternoon for unanimous consent to advance a Democrat-led version of the veterans benefits package was immediately blocked by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., a sponsor of the original bill.

The legislation contains more than 60 measures with bipartisan support that have stalled for lack of funding, including the Major Richard Star Act and the Love Lives On Act.

“This plan does not meet needs of the moment,” said Moran, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Blumenthal is the top Democrat on that committee.

A single objection by another senator can stop legislation from moving to a floor vote, according to the chamber’s rules.

Moran, in a speech on the Senate floor, said he could not support Blumenthal’s proposed funding alternative, which would shift a portion of unused defense dollars from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 to cover higher veterans benefits in the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act.

Blumenthal and Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., have pressured fellow lawmakers for weeks to tap dollars from the bill, a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

“There is nearly $100 billion for the Department of Defense that remains unobligated and unspent from H.R. 1, a law enacted more than a year ago. A small portion of those funds could easily be redirected to cover the human costs of war reflected in the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

But Moran said Wednesday that he checked with the Congressional Budget Office, which raised concerns that an attempt by Congress to use appropriated dollars for the Defense Department to cover mandated veterans benefits will not comply with federal law.

Moran then tried to advance the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act, with its original funding mechanism, to a vote. But Blumenthal stood up in opposition, effectively halting a floor vote.

Blumenthal argued that Republican leaders were trying to apply a “take-it-or-leave-it approach” to paying for the legislation, which has idled in the House over partisan differences on funding.

Blumenthal also countered suggestions by some Republican lawmakers and veterans groups that many claims for tinnitus and sleep apnea — among the most common disabilities — may not be related to military service.

“These disabilities are not hypothetical. They are real,” Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal said that loud noises from artillery fire can lead to hearing loss, including tinnitus, and that toxic exposures during deployment can result in breathing problems, including sleep apnea.

Blumenthal argued that Congress should not have to end disability payments to some veterans to pay for benefits for others.

“We can do better as a nation,” Blumenthal said. “It’s unconscionable to claim that we can only pay [for the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act] by forcing other veterans to sacrifice,” he said.