Efforts in Congress last year to add hypertension to a list of diseases linked to Agent Orange at the Department of Veterans Affairs failed, keeping Vietnam-era veterans from accessing care for high blood pressure connected to the toxic exposure.
Now, lawmakers are making another
attempt to add hypertension and MGUS (Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined
Significance), to a list of presumptive conditions at VA, which will qualify
those veterans for care and benefits. As many as 490,000 Vietnam-era veterans
could benefit from the change, if the bill passes Congress and becomes law.
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
Chairman Jon Tester, D-Montana, introduced the Fair Care for Vietnam Veterans
Act this week, along with support from 16 other senators. Tester said the bill
would "put an end to decades of veterans wrestling with bureaucratic red
tape" at VA, adding that there is sufficient scientific evidence to
connect the illnesses to the toxic herbicide.
Earlier this month, Tester and
Moran urged VA leaders to expand care and benefits to as many as 160,000
affected by Agent Orange-linked hypertension.
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