Jon Stewart, former host of "The Daily Show," told Just the News that advocates for a bill to help war veterans who were exposed to toxins from burn pits shouldn't have to "lobby" Congress to pass it.
Stewart pushed for passage of the same bill, the Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act, in September 2020. He said at the time that war veterans who were exposed to harmful toxins during their military service are "more vulnerable" to COVID-19.
Stewart was asked Tuesday if he thinks the Democrats should have added the bill to President Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the second largest stimulus package in history, which passed last month. Ostensibly a COVID relief measure, the mammoth package included union pension bailouts and racially targeted farm subsidies. Democrats used budget reconciliation to pass the wide-ranging spending bill without relying on votes from Republicans.
"It's an issue that should be addressed on its own merits," Stewart said after a news conference with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and veterans organizations in Washington. "It's the true cost of war. It's the total cost of war, and you can't send people overseas in dangerous conditions and not take care of the consequences of it when you get home.
"Down here, they love to stick sh*t in other sh*t. It's a big turducken down here. This thing goes in this thing. The veterans, we have a moral obligation to care for the consequences of their service; simple as that, and that's what we have to do. So we can talk about the political games, or maybe they should have done this first, or maybe they could have added it into this bill. This is an issue that stands on its own ... and I don't understand why we even have to lobby for it, like, this should have been done, and it should be the obligation of the VA straight off the bat."