(The Hill) – Democratic lawmakers and veterans’ groups are fuming over a provision in a stopgap federal spending bill passed by House Republicans this week that would cut a Department of Veteran Affairs fund meant to cover costs for illnesses linked to military burn pits and other chemical exposure.
The six-month government spending package, which largely holds federal spending at fiscal year 2024 levels, would cut the Toxic Exposures Fund (TEF) for the VA next year.
The controversial fund was meant to allot $22.8 billion to cover expanded benefits for former service members sickened by military toxic exposures — including burn pit smoke and Agent Orange water contamination — starting October 1, 2025.
But the continuing resolution (CR) drafted and passed by House Republicans zeros out funding that would have been used for the TEF in the fall.
“It cuts more than $20 billion in funding needed to provide care for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances next year,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on the Senate floor Thursday. “It cannot pass.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, strongly criticized the funding plan ahead of its House passage, calling out House Republicans for cutting the money despite approving it in their spending bill last year.
“You can’t make this stuff up,” she posted to X.
Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.), himself a veteran, said he couldn’t support a bill “that would cut $23 billion from care for veterans exposed to Agent Orange, burn pits, and toxic substances during their service to our country.”
Veterans groups were also unhappy with the move, with the liberal VoteVets warning that cutting the fund “will cost lives” in social media posts.
And Cole Lyle, the director of veterans affairs and rehabilitation for The American Legion, said the association supported the CR to avoid a government shutdown, but called on Congress to pass a fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill that includes full funding for the TEF starting in October.
“It is critical that Legionnaires and veterans across the country have access to the care and benefits that resulted from toxic exposure during their service,” he said in a statement to The Hill.
Furor over the TEF and other shortfalls in spending have many Senate Democrats opposed to voting for the CR — which would boost defense funds but cut nondefense programs. Many Democrats alleged the bill would create a “slush fund” for President Trump and Elon Musk.
But Democrats are also leery of causing a shutdown Friday night — and taking the blame for one — if they don’t vote to advance the measure. At least eight Democrats need to vote “yes” to overcome the Senate filibuster.
On Thursday Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) said he plans to vote to advance the 99-page measure, arguing that a shutdown would lead to the shuttering of regional Veterans Affairs offices, leaving veterans without crucial services.
VA Secretary Doug Collins has not weighed in on the new budget estimates for his agency.
The exclusion of advanced appropriated funds for TEF in the CR does not necessarily mean the fund goes away next year. The Trump administration could still request funding in their upcoming budget request, similar to the process for other accounts across the government, and Congress could include it in next year’s funding bills.
Republican opposition to the Toxic Exposure Fund largely centers around their claims that the pot of money, created after passage of the 2022 PACT Act, is a slush fund for the VA with little oversight.
The GOP lawmakers have made the account a target in recent years, and have pushed to move those dollars back into the standard VA budgeting process.
But that move would create its own headaches, given it would change how nondefense spending is calculated. That could lead to cuts in other programs, with no guaranteed funding account for the toxic exposure benefits in the end.
