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Sen. Jon Tester speaks in Helena on Wednesday, touting his bill to provide comprehensive and "overdue" support to U.S. troops who experienced toxic exposure.

Sen. Jon Tester said Wednesday he was optimistic that his bill to provide comprehensive and "overdue" support to U.S. troops who experienced toxic exposure would become law.

The Montana Democrat, speaking to a small group at the veterans memorial at Helena’s Memorial Park, talked about his bill that has moved out of committee and is winding its way toward the Senate floor.

“Every Veterans Day we pause and recognize the men and women who have served this country in the military and we honor their sacrifices,” he said. “The fact is though, this day is more than being about paying respects. It is about doing right by the service and paying the continuing cost of war.”

Earlier this year, Tester, chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, unveiled his Compensation and Overdue Support for Troops, or COST of War Act of 2021. This helps veterans affected by toxic exposure, including 3.5 million who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, get immediate and lifelong access to Department of Veterans Affairs health care. And it extends services to those still not recovered from toxic exposure in the Vietnam and the Persian Gulf wars.

“It’s one of the largest expansions of VA health care ever seen,” he said.

The bill sets up a procedure for Veterans Affairs to process claims of toxic exposure, Tester said in May when introducing the proposal.

It allocates $430 billion to be spent over 10 years, with $250 billion of that going toward benefits and the other $180 billion for health care, Tester said, adding the Congressional Budget Office had just recently reached that figure.

“Fighting wars costs a lot of money,” he said.

The bill is now in negotiations, Tester said, adding he hoped it would be voted on by the Senate before the first of the year. He said there is a similar bill in the House.

He said for decades service members have returned home and suffered through a piecemeal process to get health care and disability benefits.

“They deserve better and they have earned better,” Tester said.

He said the bill included bipartisan ideas from veterans and advocates. Tester said he was pleased Veterans Affairs officials were also at the table.

Tim Peters, Department of Montana VFW Adjutant, said he asked Tester to sponsor a comprehensive toxic exposure bill.

"When our country sends us off to war we have an inherent presumption they will treat our wounds, either on the battlefield, or years later,” Peters, a Gulf War veteran, said. “This bill will do just that.”

Dave Powell, who served in Thailand during the Vietnam War and was discharged in 1975, said he was thankful for the bill.

Tester said the bill gives the VA the ability to deal with toxic exposure from the Gulf War and future conflicts, but also helps veterans with problems stemming from some of the past wars like Vietnam.

Tester said the bill has met some resistance due to costs.

“But in the end you have to ask the question, and that question is, if you send these folks out to war you have an obligation to take care of them in the battlefield and when they are back home,” he said. “And if you aren’t willing to (fulfill) that obligation, you shouldn’t send them in the first place.”

Tom Lutey of The Billings Gazette contributed to this story.

Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021.

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Sen. Jon Tester speaks in Helena on Wednesday, touting his bill to provide comprehensive and "overdue" support to U.S. troops who experienced toxic exposure.

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