(U.S. Senate) – Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Committee Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.),
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Joe Manchin
(D-W.Va.) are urging VA Secretary David Shulkin to expand the agency’s
list of medical conditions associated with exposure to Agent Orange.
In March 2016, the National Academy of Medicine recommended that the
VA expand its list of medical conditions that are associated with
presumed exposure to Agent Orange. The VA has yet to respond to its
recommendations to include bladder cancer, hyperthyroidism and
Parkinson-like conditions.
“The veterans suffering from these conditions are still in urgent need of critical health care and other benefits,” the Senators wrote. “The
care owed to our servicemembers should not be delayed and denied any
longer. They fought for our country, were exposed to a toxic chemical
while carrying out their daily duties, and in return, we are failing to
provide medical care and disability compensation.”
Under the Agent Orange Act of 1991, the VA was required to
implement recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine within
60 days. While that law has expired, the VA has delayed its response
several times over the course of the last 19 months.
Veterans who served in Vietnam are presumed to have been exposed to
toxic chemicals like Agent Orange. The VA considers a number of medical
conditions to have direct relation to a veteran’s presumed exposure to
toxic chemicals and provides these veterans with health care and
disability benefits.
The Senators’ letter can be found online HERE.
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