The
decision by U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco ends months of uncertainty
over whether the Trump administration would appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme
Court.
The Trump administration’s
Justice Department informed the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday that it will not
challenge a landmark lower court ruling that “blue water” Navy veterans who
served during the Vietnam War are covered by the federal Agent Orange Act.
The decision by U.S. Solicitor
General Noel Francisco ended months of uncertainty for tens of thousands of
former service members or their survivors who may now be eligible for benefits
stemming from exposure to Agent Orange. The benefits have been estimated to
cost the Department of Veterans Affairs more than $1 billion over 10 years.
“I am thrilled that the solicitor general has
determined not to seek certiorari review,” said Mel Bostwick, a partner at
Orrick Henderson & Sutcliffe who represented veteran Alfred Procopio pro
bono. “While I have every confidence that the Supreme Court would have upheld
the Federal Circuit’s sound decision, the choice by the solicitor and by
Secretary [Robert] Wilkie to enforce the court’s ruling now means that
deserving Vietnam veterans will not have to endure further delay or uncertainty
before obtaining the benefits that they were promised decades ago.”
In January, the so-called “blue
water” Navy veterans, who served on ships within the 12-mile territorial sea of
the Republic of Vietnam, secured a long-sought victory in the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The full court, ruling 9-2, said the Agent
Orange Act of 1991 includes those veterans.
Until the ruling by the full
Federal Circuit, those veterans had been denied the presumption of Agent Orange
exposure during the Vietnam War. The Justice Department, supporting the
Department of Veterans Affairs’ interpretation, had argued that the Agent
Orange Act covered only those veterans who served on the ground or inland
waterways of Vietnam.
No comments:
Post a Comment