Senators: “Veterans have waited long enough, and it is time for them to have their claims properly adjudicated”
(U.S. Senate) – Senate Veterans’
Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Jerry Moran
(R-Kan.) are urgently calling on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary
Denis McDonough to implement provisions under the Blue Water Navy Vietnam
Veterans Act to quickly provide long-overdue benefits and care to veterans
suffering from Agent Orange exposure.
“Veterans who have suffered for
decades would welcome quick Departmental implementation of this law,” wrote the
Senators in a bipartisan letter. “In response to questions prior to your
confirmation as Secretary, you agreed to provide a timeline on when these
veterans could expect Departmental action. We reiterate this request and ask
that you provide this information as soon as possible, along with any
additional resources your Department needs to adjudicate these claims
expeditiously. We also request that you detail any renewed filings veterans or
their survivors must undertake to receive benefits under the law. Veterans have
waited long enough, and it is time for them to have their claims properly
adjudicated.”
The Blue Water Navy Vietnam
Veterans Act changed the law to guarantee that veterans who served off the
shores of Vietnam and exposed to Agent Orange could access health care and
benefits related to their exposure from VA. President Donald Trump signed this
legislation into law on June 25, 2019.
“I submitted my Blue Water Navy
Claim to my local Veterans Service Organization in Kalispell more than a year
ago, and VA has yet to provide a resolution,” said Bigfork Vietnam Veteran Mike
Stone. “As a veteran living with three of the seven qualifying
service-connected conditions, including Type 2 Diabetes and Ischemic Heart
Disease, I simply can’t afford to wait another 14 months for VA to take action.
I appreciate Chairman Tester and Ranking Member Moran’s attention to ensuring
that these claims are expedited immediately for myself and countless others who
served on behalf of this nation.”
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