“Congress has an obligation to ensure the VA can effectively and efficiently implement any comprehensive toxic exposure legislation and, unfortunately, I continue to have reservations about the Department’s ability to do so,” Tillis said Tuesday night in a written statement.

Tillis rejected the law because it directed the Veterans Administration to oversee the implementation of the act. The VA, in its own words, told lawmakers it was already overburdened with current obligations.

Both Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, who represent North Carolina, were among the group that prevented the bill from moving forward, even though they had helped write portions of it.