Nearly half of the more than 69,000 claims for "Blue Water Navy" Agent Orange benefits have been processed, and about 71% of those have thus far been approved for more than $664 million in retroactive benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday.
The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act signed into law by
President Donald Trump in June 2019 extended Agent Orange benefits already in
effect for veterans who served on land or the inland waterways of Vietnam to
veterans who served on ships that came within 12 nautical miles of the Vietnam
coast.
"As of Sept. 30, VA has processed 34,415 [48%] of
69,570 claims received, of which 24,328 [71%] have been granted -- awarding
more than $664 million in retroactive benefits to eligible veterans and
families," officials said in the Monday release.
Those whose claims have not been granted can resubmit them
with added documentation or can ask for a review of the initial claim, said
Chris Slawinski, executive director of the Fleet Reserve Association.
He said the main reasons for a claim not being granted would
be a lack of documentation on the sailor's service record or lack of medical
records.
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