READ THE STORYBlue Water Navy Vietnam veterans will have to continue to
wait until next year before the Department of Veterans Affairs begins to
process their long-awaited Agent Orange disability benefits claims.
There was no indication from Congress or VA leaders during a
Wednesday hearing on the subject that there was a plan to lift the delay put in
place earlier this year.
About a week after Congress passed and President Donald
Trump signed into law the Blue Water Vietnam Veterans Act -- a long-awaited
measure to grant benefits to certain veterans who served in the waters off of
Vietnam -- VA Secretary Robert Wilkie issued a stay on processing any Blue
Water claims until January 2020, first reported by Connecting Vets.
Veterans and members of Congress have repeatedly called on
Wilkie to lift the stay and begin processing at least the claims of the oldest
or most critically ill. Veteran service organizations have appealed to the
White House, asking Trump to lift the stay himself. Some veterans have gone so
far as to file a lawsuit to lift the stay.
Dying veterans exposed to Agent Orange and widows of those
already passed have come to Washington pleading for benefits.
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