Passage of the bill marks the end of a lengthy fight to get the legislation through Congress, as veterans and their advocates had been demonstrating on Capitol Hill for days. Many veterans were allowed into the Senate gallery to watch the final vote on Tuesday evening.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced after reaching the deal with Republicans who had blocked the bill from advancing last week while they sought to add cost-controlling amendment votes to the package.
“I have some good news, the minority leader and I have come to an agreement to vote on the PACT Act this evening,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “I’m very optimistic that this bill will pass so our veterans across America can breathe a sigh of relief.”
Tuesday’s final vote followed votes on three amendments with a 60-vote threshold. Toomey’s amendment, which would have made a change to a budget component of the legislation, failed as expected, in a vote of 47-48.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell defended his party’s handling of the legislation at a news conference on Tuesday.
“Look, these kind of back and forths happen all the time in the legislative process, you’ve observed that over the years,” he said. “I think in the end, the veterans service organizations will be pleased with the final result.”
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments Tuesday.
CNN’s Manu Raju and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.
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