Jon Stewart criticises Senate Republicans for bill on veterans’ burn pits

Comedian Jon Stewart criticised Senate Republicans on Thursday for preventing the approval of a bill that would have extended health benefits to veterans exposed to burn pits and poisons during their military service.

The former “Daily Show” host told reporters that a group of veterans flew to Washington DC to witness the passage of the PACT Act.

Stewart grew extremely distraught as he stated, “Yeah, just it’s — it just makes the gut punch that much more devastating is that these people all came down here so that they could finally tell the men,” Their constituents are passing away.

The legislation passed the House with some bipartisan support but fell short of the required 60 Senate votes.

Stewart, who actively pushed for first responders, expressed special contempt for Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, who claimed the bill would generate $400 billion in discretionary expenditure, going so far as to refer to him as an “f—king coward.”

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, responded to Toomey on the Senate floor, stating, “If you have the guts to send somebody to war, then you better have the guts to take care of them when they get home.”

Stewart stated that the bill would finally pass despite opposition from the GOP.

“We’re gonna get it done. … You don’t tell their cancer to take a recess, tell their cancer to stay home and go visit their families,” he remarked. “This disgrace, if this is America first, America is f—ed.”