Eligible Veterans may now be entitled to disability
compensation benefits
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is
preparing to process Agent Orange exposure claims for “Blue Water Navy”
Veterans who served offshore of the Republic of Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962,
and May 7, 1975.
These Veterans may be eligible for presumption of herbicide
exposure through Public Law 116-23, Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of
2019, which was signed into law June 25, 2019, and goes into effect Jan. 1,
2020. They may also qualify for a presumption of service connection if they
have a disease that is recognized as being associated with herbicide exposure.
The bipartisan Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act gives VA
until Jan. 1, 2020, to begin deciding Blue Water Navy related claims. By
staying claims decisions until that date, VA is complying with the law that
Congress wrote and passed.
“VA is dedicated to ensuring that all Veterans receive the
benefits they have earned,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “We are working to
ensure that we have the proper resources in place to meet the needs of our Blue
Water Veteran community and minimize the impact on all Veterans filing for
disability compensation.”
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