The benefit
of the doubt must go to those who put their lives on the line for their country
How can the
federal government be sure that sailors stationed aboard Navy and Coast Guard
ships off Vietnam’s coast weren’t exposed to Agent Orange? It can’t, and that’s
why the U.S. Senate should pass a House bill that expands health benefits for
veterans who served at sea.
The House
passed the bill with a bipartisan 382-0 vote in June. Last month, 119 House
members, sent the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee a letter urging passage in
that chamber, too. The collaboration of so many House members from both parties
is a sign of the bill’s worthiness.
The U.S.
military used about 20 million gallons of the toxic defoliant Agent Orange in
the jungles of Vietnam. Today, the government provides coverage of Agent
Orange-related diseases to veterans who served on the ground in Vietnam or
sailed in Vietnam’s inland waterways, presuming that those soldiers and sailors
came into contact with the toxin.
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