Cruz responded to the comedian with a 1.59 minute video posted on Twitter, in which he said he would support the bill if a Democrat "accounting gimmick", which he argued could lead to an additional $400 billion in spending, is removed.

There had been overwhelming bipartisan support for an expansion of the benefits that veterans can claim because of their burn pit exposure, but political wrangling continues as veterans’ health declines. There is little medical mystery here, but denials of the cause of their conditions, denials of benefits and the continued use of burn pits prolong their pain.

Obviously, voting to deny health care to sick vets (and fist-bumping afterward) is obviously far more disrespectful to vets than kneeling during the anthem. But just for fun, let’s take a look at what GOP senators who blocked the burn pit bill in protest had to say about Kaepernick.

Shortly after the PACT Act was blocked, several citizens and prominent activists called out GOP members for voting against the bill. Moreover, footage showing Republicans celebrating the decision inside the Senate left some people enraged.

“Standing for those who stood for us has been one of my priorities in Congress, and I am disappointed in the Senate for not supporting Veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Cline said. “We cannot send our servicemembers to fight our wars and neglect them when they come home.”

Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday took to the U.S. Senate floor to slam Senate Republicans for blocking passage of the Honoring our PACT Act, legislation to expand health care benefits for veterans. The bill passed last month by a vote of 84-14, but due to a procedural error, on Wednesday night the Senate took a vote to fix the error, which failed by a vote of 55 to 42.

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.

The senators — Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Roger Marshall of Kansas — voted against blocking a filibuster of the PACT Act, a measure designed to provide funding to treat veterans exposed to toxins and burn pits.

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.

And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would schedule another procedural vote to break a GOP filibuster on Monday, trying to force the Republicans to let it pass. As of Thursday afternoon, Schumer had not formally scheduled a vote for Monday but has the ability to call for a vote at any time.

"We really expected yesterday to be a procedural vote that would go with easy passage," said Jeremy Butler, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a nonprofit veterans’ organization. "That was the absolute expectation."

He was exposed to toxic drinking water while stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina in the 70s.

Eight Republicans joined all 48 of the Democrats present in supporting the bill, but that fell short of the 60-vote supermajority required to end the GOP filibuster. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer changed his vote to no at the last minute for procedural reasons, enabling him to force another vote in the future. The final vote was 55-42.

“This eleventh-hour act of cowardice will actively harm this country’s veterans and their families. Republicans chose today to rob generations of toxic-exposed veterans across this country of the health care and benefits they so desperately need—and make no mistake, more veterans will suffer and die as a result,” said Tester in a statement.

Almost one million people lived and worked at the camp between 1953 and 1987, and a study found that people staying in Camp Lejeune had significantly higher mortality rates for several forms of cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and other conditions.

“My concern about this bill has nothing to do with the purpose of the bill,” Toomey said. “This budgetary gimmick is so unrelated to the actual veterans issue that has to do with burn pits, that it’s not even in the House version of this bill.”

Republican lawmakers who had previously voted against the measure, including Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., reiterated objections to how the money connected to the measure (about $300 billion over 10 years) would be accounted for in the regular appropriations process.

“Once more, the House of Representatives has made clear to America's veterans how much we value their service and sacrifice,” said House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (HVAC) Chairman Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who sponsored the bill, when the most recent version was passed in the house July 13.

The Act requires that the injured person, or the representative of a deceased injured person, first, file an administrative claim for damages with the appropriate federal agency within two (2) years after the date of enactment.

A bill that’s awaiting a minor technical change and the president’s signature will finally provide a legal avenue for those who got sick or had family members who got sick and died. Lawyers aren’t waiting for the president’s John Hancock. They’re paying for a flurry of online commercials and television ads to recruit plaintiffs.