Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin said Monday he's decided
to expand the list of "presumptive" ailments for Agent Orange
compensation subject to approval by the Trump administration.
Shulkin didn't disclose the expanded list -- "I'm protecting the
sanctity of the process" -- but stressed, "I have made a decision. I
have passed that on in the process that we follow in the federal
government."
A VA official later said Shulkin's recommendations on Agent Orange
compensation expansion would go to the White House Office of Management
and Budget and other agencies for approval and analysis of the costs.
Shulkin said he expected approval "in a matter of a few months."
Shulkin's remarks on Agent Orange on Monday at the National Press
Club were in contrast to the statement put out last week by the VA
suggesting that decisions on expanding the list had been delayed yet
again.
The VA faced its own deadline of Nov. 1 for deciding on whether to
include bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, Parkinson-like tremors and other
ailments to the list for Agent Orange compensation based on a report
from the National Academy of Medicine that had been sitting at the VA
for 18 months.
After reviewing the academy report, Shulkin said in his statement
last week, "I have made a decision to further explore new presumptive
conditions for service connection that may ultimately qualify for
disability compensation."
Shulkin readily acknowledged the confusion on what transpired last
week in regards to expanding the list. "I'm glad to clarify this
situation, since I think that it may be a little bit murky," he said.
The VA had received the NAM's report in early 2016 and had been
required to approve or disapprove of its recommendations within 60 days.
The VA failed to meet the initial deadline in another "example of the
VA not performing at an acceptable level," Shulkin said.
Rather than committing last week to "further explore" an expansion,
he had actually decided to expand the list, Shulkin said. "I made made a
decision," he said. "I'm not announcing it," he said, but "my intention
is to do what's right for veterans."
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