Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo has asked the Government
Accountability Office to review all documentation regarding the use of
Agent Orange and other dioxin-based herbicides on Guam.
The
Department of Defense has said Agent Orange was never present or
transited through Guam, but veterans who were stationed on Guam during
the Vietnam War, like Leroy Foster, have said they were forced to
spray Agent Orange in military facilities and defense properties on
Guam.
Foster,
68, now resides in Florida and said he now suffers from 33 diseases,
including five different cancers as a result of spraying the herbicide
that was widely used by the United States to kill vegetation during the
Vietnam War.
In a letter to the GAO sent Friday, Bordallo asked
that the agency review all documentation related to the handling and
transport of Agent Orange to hold DoD accountable and address this
situation based off the findings.
“We need updated information in order to make the right recommendations,” Bordallo stated in a press release.
The
GAO is an independent watchdog agency that serves as a legislative
check on the executive branch. Because of its access to sensitive
records not made available to private organizations, the GAO is uniquely
capable of reviewing DoD’s assertion, Bordallo noted.
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