U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, is pushing the House to act
on legislation that would restore access to VA benefits for Blue Water
Navy veterans exposed to Agent Orange and other toxins during the
Vietnam War.
Blue Water Navy veterans, those who served on ships
in the territorial seas of Vietnam, are not eligible for benefits from
the Department of Veterans Affairs related to Agent Orange or other
herbicide exposure.
"The clock is ticking for these veterans," Courtney said by phone Wednesday.
Initially,
Blue Water Navy vets were granted recognition and compensation from the
VA under the Agent Orange Act of 1991, which presumed certain diseases
resulted from exposure to dioxins and other herbicide agents during
military service in Vietnam.
In 2002, the VA reinterpreted the
legislation to apply only to vets who served in the inland rivers or set
foot in Vietnam, stripping Blue Water Navy vets of their coverage.
Since then, legislation in Congress has tried to restore coverage to these veterans with no success.
On
Dec. 22, Courtney sent a letter, signed by more than 100 of his
colleagues, to House Speaker Paul Ryan asking him to advance the latest
legislative proposal, H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans
Act, which would restore the presumption of service connection to the
House floor for a vote. The bill is stalled in the House Committee on
Veterans Affairs.
No comments:
Post a Comment