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The Senate on Tuesday passed a sweeping expansion of veterans health care, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk after GOP resistance held up the bill last week. Lawmakers voted 86-11 to back the measure, which caps a yearslong quest to help veterans who were exposed to substances like Agent Orange and toxins from burn pits while on active duty. Republicans quickly fell in line behind the bill — after blocking it less than a week ago — after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer allowed three GOP amendment votes, all of which failed on the floor. (Adragna and Carney, 8/2)

President Joe Biden is certain to sign the bill into law in the coming days. The legislation, long sought by veterans groups, means that millions of veterans suffering health problems will no longer have to prove their illnesses were caused by exposure to toxic substances from military deployments. Many served at bases that used open-air burn pits to dispose of trash and hazardous waste. The bill would make servicemembers who contracted any of 23 conditions — from brain cancer to hypertension — after being deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat zones automatically eligible for VA benefits. (Lerman, 8/2)

Susan Zeier, the mother-in-law of Heath Robinson, a member of the Ohio Army National Guard for whom the bill is named, had been protesting outside the Capitol for days to urge the Senate to pass the measure before leaving for its summer recess. Mr. Robinson served in Iraq and died in 2020 after battling lung cancer believed to have been tied to burn pit exposure, and the bill is called the Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022.“For me and my daughter, this is the satisfaction that we fulfilled our promise to Heath,” Ms. Zeier said. “We hope families don’t suffer like we did.” (Lai, 8/2)

Eleven Republican senators voted Tuesday against a bipartisan measure, the PACT Act, that is designed to help veterans who were exposed to toxic chemicals while deployed abroad. All 11 senators also voted against the bill in June. (Davis, 8/2)

According to the VA, burning waste in pits can prove more toxic than in a commercial incinerator which operates a controlled, high-temperature burn. The open air allowed soldiers to breathe in the fumes from the burn pits fires, which have now been linked to some cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. (Kaufman, 8/2)

The St. Louis Veterans Administration Health System plans to extensively renovate and overhaul the John Cochran Veterans Hospital in Grand Center, adding multiple new buildings. (Fentem, 8/2)