Rehberg Joins with Bipartisan Group of Colleagues to Fight for Benefits for Vietnam Veterans

Congressmen Denny Rehberg (R-MT), Chris Gibson (R-NY), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), and Tim Walz (D-MN) announced, today, the introduction of legislation that would extend coverage and associated benefits with “Agent Orange” exposure to an additional group of Vietnam Veterans. The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2011 would allow blue water veterans who served up to 12 miles off-shore in Vietnam presumptive coverage for Agent Orange exposure. This would enable them to receive Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits if they suffer from any of the diseases the U.S. government has linked to Agent Orange. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced similar legislation in the Senate.

During the Vietnam War, more than 20 million gallons of the herbicide “Agent Orange” was sprayed to remove jungle foliage. A toxic chemical in the herbicide, dioxin, was been linked to devastating health effects, including non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, prostate and other cancers, Type II Diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease. In 1991, legislation was enacted that empowered the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to declare certain illnesses “presumptive” to exposure to Agent Orange and enabled Vietnam veterans to receive disability compensation for these related conditions. However, in 2002, the VA limited the scope of the Act to only those veterans who could provide orders for “boots on the ground” in Vietnam. Boots on the ground encompassed infantry and the riverine navy. As a result, veterans who served in the waters off the coast of Vietnam, commonly called “blue water veterans,” were forced to file individual claims with the VA to restore their benefits, which are then decided on a case-by-case basis. The VA has denied 32,880 such claims through 2009.

However, a May 2011 report issued by the Institute of Medicine concluded that plausible routes of exposure to Agent Orange exist for blue water veterans. Presumptive coverage lifts the burden from the individual veteran to prove direct exposure to Agent Orange - a nearly impossible task due to a lack of record keeping and the inability to know the precise location of dioxins in the air and groundwater runoff - and extends the same presumption that currently exists for veterans who served on land and inland waterways. It would also reduce backlogged VA claims by automatically covering claims for disability compensation from these veterans who are suffering from diseases that the U.S. government has linked to Agent Orange.

The legislation was referred to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.