First on CNN: Senators announce bipartisan deal on long-sought bill to help veterans exposed to burn pits during military service
CNN
The two top-ranking senators on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee on Wednesday announced a long-sought bipartisan deal on a comprehensive bill that could help millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service.
"For far too long, our nation's veterans have been living with chronic illnesses as a result of exposures during their time in uniform. Today, we're taking necessary steps to right this wrong with our proposal that'll provide veterans and their families with the health care and benefits they have earned and deserve," Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat and the committee's chairman, and Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican and ranking member of the panel, said in a joint statement.
The agreement is years in the making, and, if successful, would amount to a major bipartisan victory. Tester and Moran's joint statement signals their effort to win the 60 votes needed for the measure to pass the 50-50 Senate.
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