GOP congressman who voted twice against veterans health bill is now urging his constituents to enroll in its benefits

• Rep. David Schweikert voted twice last year against a bill to provide health benefits to veterans.
• But now, he's urging his constituents to sign up to receive benefits from the program.

Last year, Rep. David Schweikert voted not once, but twice against a bill to provide health benefits to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their service.

Now, the Arizona Republican is urging his constituents to sign up for the benefits created by that same legislation.

"You don't want to miss out on this opportunity," wrote Schweikert in an e-newsletter sent to constituents on Monday, urging Arizona veterans to sign up by Wednesday, August 9 in order to receive an extra year's worth of benefits.

Schweikert also posted similar messages on both Twitter and Facebook.

The bill — known as the "Honoring our PACT Act" — was a bipartisan bill that expanded the benefits and services that the Department of Veterans Affairs could provide to service members who may have developed an illness as a result of exposure to toxins.

That includes "burn pits" on military bases, where the military disposed of chemicals, plastics, and human waste via open-air fires.

President Joe Biden — who has blamed burn pit exposure for his late son Beau's brain cancer — urged Congress to pass the bill during his first State of the Union address in 2022.

The initial version of the legislation later passed the House in March 2022, and then a Senate-amended version passed the House again in July 2022.

In both instances, Schweikert was among the Republicans who voted against the bill. Biden later signed the bill into law on August 10, 2022.

Insider reached out to Schweikert's office for comment on why he did not support the bill, but did not receive a response.

According to the US Census, more than 41,000 veterans live in Schweikert's Scottsdale-area district.

It's the latest example of Republican lawmakers touting programs created by legislation that they voted against.

In June, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama celebrated the fact that his state had received $1.4 billion in federal funding to expand access to broadband internet, despite voting against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which appropriated the money for the program.

His spokesman told Insider at the time that though Tuberville believed the bill included wasteful spending, his state now deserved its "fair share" and that Tuberville was "proud to advocate for this funding to go to Alabama."