The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association, a Littleton,
CO based veteran advocacy 501c3 organization, is sponsoring a Rally in
Washington, DC on May 18th in support of legislation that
will return benefits of Health Care and Compensation to veterans who
served offshore during the Vietnam War. Members and even non-members are
being invited to attend this event.
Although granted to them by
the Agent Orange Act of 1991, the Department of Veterans Affairs removed
this group from receiving their benefits for disabilities related to
exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange. The herbicide defoliant contains
dioxin, which has caused a number of cancers and other disabling
conditions.
In 2002, the VA literally redefined a “Vietnam
veteran” to mean only those who serviced with boots-on-ground. Those who
served in combat positions offshore and within the bays and harbors are
no longer eligible for the presumption of exposure to Agent Orange. The
VA continues to provide those benefits to veterans who had
boots-on-ground. But the VA claims all herbicide, whether water-borne in
the streams and rivers or air-borne from spray drift and the blowing
dust and debris known to travel in the atmosphere for thousands of
miles, did not go further than a line they drew along the coastline of
Vietnam. Since this belief defies common sense and the laws of nature,
there is legislation in both the House of Representatives (HR-969) and
in the Senate (S-681) to declare this regulation unreasonable. Passing
this legislation would return presumption of exposure to those who
served offshore or in bays and Harbors if they suffer from the identical
diseases that plague the veterans with who served with boot-on-ground.
“A
government agency must have regulation regarding its activities,” says
John Rossie, Executive Director of the Blue Water Navy Association, “but
we all expect those regulations to maintain some semblance of
rationality. Declaring no exposure to the sick and disabled men who
never touched the ground because a line was drawn on a map doesn’t fit
that category. We have attempted to work with the VA to get this
regulation changed. The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims has ruled
these regulations as “arbitrary and capricious.” But the leadership of
the VA is sticking to their guns on this issue. Directing them by
legislation is the only way we can get this changed.”
The contact for this event is John Rossie who receives his email at navy@blueweaternavy.org.
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