veterans affairs committee chair john tester and ranking member jerry moran talking about the bill before the vote. >> mr. president, thank you for that emphatic recognition. in the next few minutes, the senatela will vote on the serget first class robinson honoring the promise to address comprehensive toxic act of 2022. this is a significant and i would say historic moment. this bipartisan legislation not only b is it significant and important because of the content but also because of the cooperation that has garnered to put this act together and presumably pass it and send it to the president of the united states. this bipartisan legislation is the most comprehensive, toxic exposure package the senate has ever delivered to veterans in our country's history. generation after generation americans one by one have answered the callmi of duty with the promise that we, the united states of america, the citizens of this country would take care of them and their families after their time in uniform. yet generation after generation, veteran after veteran the servicemembers returned home only to

i mean it.ri thank you to my good friend, ranking member jerry moran. me on the committee, creating environments so staff can work together, this bipartisan strategy for my colleagues on the senate veterans affairs committee particularly my friends like senator john boseman and sheriff brown, thank you. i'm thankful for the leadership president biden and va secretary mcdonough along with house veterans affairs committee chairman. and so many, many others here today. this bill is the legislation we envision when we set out to right the wrongs of our toxic exposed fit. this bill recognizes the cost of war. it's the bill veterans and families deserve and are counting on and cannot wait any longer. veterans and service organizations and advocates have understood this for a long time and they have been incredible partners since the beginning and i look forward to thinking each and every one of them in the days and weeks to come. i want to speak directly to them now. i am grateful for your efforts, your voices for never taking her foot off the gas and pushing

thank you to my good friend, ranking member jerry moran, for working with me, with the committee, for creating an environment so our staffs could create together to create this new bipartisan, toxic exposure strategy. for my senators on the committee, particularly friends like john boozman and sherrod brown, thank you. i'm thankful for the leadership of president biden and v.a. secretary dennis mcdonough, along with house veterans' affairs committee chairman takana. and so many, many others that are here today. this bill is the legislation we envisioned when we set out to right the wrongs of our toxic supposed vets. this bill recognizes the cost of war. it's the bill our veterans and their families deserve and are counting on and cannot wait any longer for. veterans and veteran service organizations and advocates have understood this for a long time. and they have been incredible partners since the beginnings. and i look forward to thanking reached and every one of them in the did a -- thanking each and every one of them in the days and weeks to come. i want to speak directly to them

committee, jerry moran of kansas. they worked to improve the bill that came from the house to make it better and stronger and together, they put forward bipartisan support. when it came out of the senate v.a. committee it had unanimous support. unfortunately, some members of the senate v.a. committee voted against it, senator sullivan, senator tillis, and senator cassidy. they voted against it in the closure vote and hopefully next week, if it comes to a floor vote, they will realize the error of their ways and vote yes to get passed. but it will have to go back to the house and we did not get that unanimous support from the house veterans affairs committees. incredibly shocking because myself and others from iava an military service border organization, we have testified before both committees countless times over the years about how important this issue is and how important this legislation is. we really need if anyone the v.a. house committee to drive us forward and making sure every member of their party votes yes

republican senator jerry moran has said the v.a.w does this legislation insure that the veterans will get the care they need? >> well, first of all, this is a great effort by senator rubio and i and others to work on a bipartisan basis to make sure when our veterans come home, when they are sick because of their service, that they will be covered. this bill creates a presumption. if you served on the war on terror and were exposed to burn pits, any disease you have, you are covered. and it changes the current process where survivors and veterans come forward, they're denied, they're asked to prove epidemiological causation, they're asked to prove what was actually burned at the burn pits. they're asked to prove which burn pit were you exposed to. it's an outrage. this bill fixes that. >> the senate bill, as you know better than i, is named for heath robinson. he died a couple years ago from lung cancer after being exposed to burn pits in his service. his widow spoke to cnn a few weeks ago. i want you to listen to her plea to lawmake

. >> this bill championed by senators john tester of montana, a democrat, and jerry moran of ka kansasld be connected and that would pave the way for them to receive medical treatment for their illnesses and also to make a stronger claim for disability benefits. president biden has pledged to sign the bill into law. >>> this morning, a move from target is worrying retailers as the big box store slashes its second quarter outlook because of an excess of unsold goods and they outlined plans to cut inventory. cnn's rahel solomon joins us now. target really sending, i think, you know, the market reeling a little bit. >> this is the second type of warning like this from target in about a month. essentially saying they have too much inventory. they have too much stuff. this announcement is saying that we're going to right size our inventory, and we're going to respond to this rapidly changing environment, the ceo saying in this statement that target's business continues to generate healthy increases in traffic and sales, despite sustained volatility in the macro environment, including shifti

committee, jerry moran of kansas.rked to improve the bill that came from the house to make it better and stronger and together, they put forward bipartisan support. when it came out of the senate v.a. committee it had unanimous support. unfortunately, some members of the senate v.a. committee voted against it, senator sullivan, senator tillis, and senator cassidy. they voted against it in the closure vote and hopefully next week, if it comes to a floor vote, they will realize the error of their ways and vote yes to get passed. but it will have to go back to the house and we did not get that unanimous support from the house veterans affairs committees. incredibly shocking because myself and others from iava an military service border organization, we have testified before both committees countless times over the years about how important this issue is and how important this legislation is. we really need if anyone the v.a. house committee to drive us forward and making sure every member of their party votes yes. host:

committee, jerry moran of kansas. to improve the bill that came from the house to make it better and stronger and together, they put forward bipartisan support. when it came out of the senate v.a. committee it had unanimous support. unfortunately, some members of the senate v.a. committee voted against it, senator sullivan, senator tillis, and senator cassidy. they voted against it in the closure vote and hopefully next week, if it comes to a floor vote, they will realize the error of their ways and vote yes to get passed. but it will have to go back to the house and we did not get that unanimous support from the house veterans affairs committees. incredibly shocking because myself and others from iava an military service border organization, we have testified before both committees countless times over the years about how important this issue is and how important this legislation is. we really need if anyone the v.a. house committee to drive us forward and making sure every member of their party votes yes. host: let'

substances during their military service veterans affairs committee chair jon tester and ranking member jerry morantheir work on the bill and the importance of it. we take you to their remarks.

but we would not be here today without the undaunted and unflagging dedication of jon tester and jerry moran. i salute both of them. madam president, i yield the floor. madam president, i would also note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: . quorum call: i would add senator cornyn today in his presentation of gun owners only, just people who own guns, and support for the provisions of framework is off the charts, overwhelming. i think if this framework becomes the actual piece of legislation, it's a step forward, a step forward on a bipartisan basis and further demonstrates to the american people that we can come together, which we've done from time to time like infrastructure and postal reform, to make progress for the country. >> back in december you told us you are interested in gender six committee was doing and you be watching it and the public should see what they found. to use if you have been watching and what you think so far? >> i don't remember saying that i would be watching. i'm focusing on what we're doing here in the senat

i commend senator john tester of montana and senator jerry moran, they are chairman and ranking member of the veterans' affairs committee for this historic bill. i support the v.f.w., and so many others that helped produce this bill and the veterans who fought to reach this point. fought sometimes literally with their last breath. i'll vote proudly for the pact act and urge my colleagues to do the same. madam president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: invited biden to speak where he's pro tem president. is that an invitation the president is considering? >> we will have anything to review or announce at this time. >> i have a question about china and tariffs with inflation still an issue, there's pressure on president biden and tariffs on china but it's meeting resistance from union members as he has to the afl cio, what does he want to see done? >> as you know, the president has asked his team to look at that particular issue, he will make a decision on that, i want to get ahead of it. that will b

veterans affairs committee chair john tester and ranking member jerry moran talking about the bill beforehe vote. >> mr. president, thank you for that emphatic recognition. in the next few minutes, the senatela will vote on

but we would not be here today without the undaunted and unflagging dedication of jon tester and jerry moran. i salute both

thank you to my good friend, ranking member jerry moran, for working with me, with the committee, for creating an environment so our staffs could create together to create this new bipartisan, toxic exposure strategy. for my senators on the committee, particularly friends like john boozman and sherrod brown, thank you. i'm thankful for the leadership of president biden and v.a. secretary dennis mcdonough, along with house veterans' affairs committee chairman takana. and so many, many others that are here today. this bill is the legislation we envisioned when we set out to right the wrongs of our toxic supposed vets. this bill recognizes the cost of war. it's the bill our veterans and their families deserve and are counting on and cannot wait any longer for. veterans and veteran service organizations and advocates have understood this for a long time. and they have been incredible partners since the beginnings. and i look forward to thanking reached and every one of them in the did a -- thanking each and every one of them in the days and weeks to come. i want to speak directly to them