VVA Supports the Decision by VA Secretary To Declare Various Diseases Presumptive

http://vva.org/press_release.html
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Release

June 12, 2010

No. 10-14

Contact:
Mokie Porter
301-585-4000, Ext. 146

Statement by VVA President John Rowan :

VVA Supports the Decision by VA Secretary To Declare

Various Diseases Presumptive Under Agent Orange/Dioxin Rules

and

Calls on the President and Congress to Fund AO/D Research Now,

And Not Wait for an Army to Die

( WASHINGTON , D.C. ) There have been reports in the media recently in which some, including Senator Jim Webb (D-VA), seem to question the legitimacy of service-connected disability compensation for illnesses related to exposure to Agent Orange/Dioxin in Vietnam and other locations, such as Type II diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease. Further, it appears that there is confusion on the part of some about how the process established by the Agent Orange Act of 1991 should and does work.

The facts of the matter are so clear that Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) must restate our position which is dictated by those clear facts:

First, Public Law 102-4, the Agent Orange Act of 1991, was enacted to address the health issues of veterans that stemmed from our exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam . Congress, in its collective wisdom, passed this legislation because of the severe impact exposure to dioxin was having on the lives of tens of thousands of veterans.

Senator Webb is mistaken about the intent of the law, which is understandable, because Webb was not in the Congress at that time. By the same token, no Senator or Member of Congress suggested, at the time of passage, that there should be any arbitrary or artificial limit placed on diseases covered, or on the numbers of veterans who might be affected, and, hence, covered. Rather, a process was set up to seek the level of association, if any, between exposure and the onset of specific diseases. Just as no one today would even think that we, as a nation, would cease treating and compensating our troops and veterans suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), simply because the incidence is far more prevalent among returning warriors than anyone might have imagined five years ago.

Second, we strongly support the actions of VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki in following both the letter and the spirit of Public Law 102-4, to conclude that the evidence analyzed by a distinguished panel from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and published in the 2008 Biennial Review of Veterans and Agent Orange: Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam was compelling enough to declare Parkinson’s disease, B cell leukemias, and ischemic heart disease as service-connected presumptive due to Agent Orange for those in the military who served in Vietnam (and along the demilitarized zone in Korea in 1968 and 1969).

Third, VVA can unequivocally state that the process set up by Congress under the Agent Orange Act continues to be the most objective and valid way of making decisions regarding environmental diseases of military service. These decisions should be scientific, not political. Any Secretary of the VA should adhere to the process, required by law, and follow the facts, as Secretary Shinseki has done.

Fourth, the evidence for inclusion of diabetes mellitus type II as a presumptive disease is very strong. It is true that people are more prone to develop type II diabetes as they age, but the facts are that Vietnam veterans are at least more than twice as likely to develop this disease as the non-veterans in our cohort group, when balanced for age, weight, exercise, and diet. The same is true of prostate cancer and other service-connected presumptive conditions.

This situation, again, highlights the need for federal funding of additional research into the adverse health impacts on Vietnam veterans, on our children, and on our grandchildren, by respected independent scientific entities outside of the VA. This is just as evident today as it was twenty years ago. The clear need for such research is even more pressing today, given the number of Vietnam veterans who have died well before their time in the last twenty years, and the number who are continuing to die early, because of the ravages resulting from exposure to Agent Orange/dioxin in Southeast Asia .

Lastly, there have been media reports that the amendment to Emergency Supplemental Appropriation by Senator Webb would delay the process, and thus delay the payment of justly due back compensation to affected veterans, pushing off the time when veterans who are owed back compensation actually will receive their entitled compensation. This simply is not the case. Neither action by Senator Webb nor anyone else has thus far caused any action that will slow down the payment of claims as soon as the VA can work though the public rule-making process to get this accomplished.



We urge all affected Vietnam veterans and eligible surviving dependents to file claims for the newly presumptive diseases associated with Agent Orange: Parkinson’s disease, B Cell leukemias, and ischemic heart disease. These diseases bring the total to 14 illness categories that entitle Vietnam veterans–and veterans who served along the demilitarized zone in Korea in 1968 and 1969–to health care and disability compensation. VVA also contends that many Vietnam-era veterans were also exposed in their service elsewhere in Southeast Asia during the war, including in Thailand and Laos , and aboard Navy vessels off the coast of Vietnam , as well as certain military bases located in the continental U.S. and its territories.

There are numerous diseases recognized by the VA as presumptive to exposure to Agent Orange. Additional information about these and other presumptive diseases and long-term health care risks for veterans can be found at the Veterans Health Council web site, www.veteranshealth.org, and in the VVA Self-help Guide to Service-Connected Disability Compensation For Exposure to Agent Orange at www.vva.org/Guides/AgentOrangeGuide.pdf

--30--

VVA Calls for Support for Presumptive Agent Orange/Dioxin

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Release
www.vva.org
June 11, 2010

No. 10-14

Contact:
Mokie Porter
301-585-4000, Ext. 146
mporter@vva.org

Statement by VVA President John Rowan :

VVA Calls for Support of the Decision by VA Secretary

To Declare Presumptive Agent Orange/Dioxin

and

VVA Calls on the President and Congress to Fund Research Now,

And Not Wait for an Army to Die



( WASHINGTON , D.C. ) There have been reports in the media recently in which some, including Senator Jim Webb, seem to question the legitimacy of service-connected disability compensation for exposure to Agent Orange/Dioxin on the battlefield, such as Type II diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease. Further, it appears that there is confusion on the part of some about how the process established by the Agent Orange Act of 1991 should and does work.

The facts of the matter are so clear that, after deliberation, Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) restates our position which is dictated by those clear facts:

First, Public Law 102-4, the Agent Orange Act of 1991, was enacted to address a plethora of health issues in veterans that stemmed from our exposure to Agent Orange while serving in-country. Congress, in its collective wisdom, passed this legislation because of the severe impact exposure to dioxin was wreaking on the lives of tens of thousands of veterans.

Senator Webb is mistaken about the intent of the law, which is understandable, because Webb was not in the Congress at that time. By the same token, no Senator or Member of Congress suggested, at the time of passage, that there should be any arbitrary or artificial limit placed on diseases covered, or on the numbers of veterans who might be affected, and, hence, covered. Rather, a process was set up to seek the level of association, if any, between exposure and the onset of specific diseases. Just as no one today would even think that we, as a nation, would cease treating and compensating our troops and veterans suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), simply because the incidence is far more prevalent among returning warriors than anyone might have imagined five years ago.

Second, we strongly support the actions of VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki in following both the letter and the spirit of Public Law 102-4, to conclude that the evidence analyzed by a distinguished panel from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and published in the 2008 Biennial Review of Veterans and Agent Orange: Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam was compelling enough to declare Parkinson’s disease, B cell leukemias, and ischemic heart disease as service-connected presumptive due to Agent Orange for those in the military who served in Vietnam (and along the demilitarized zone in Korea in 1968 and 1969).

Third, VVA can unequivocally state that the process set up by Congress under the Agent Orange Act continues to be the most objective and valid way of making decisions regarding environmental diseases of military service. These decisions should be scientific, not political. Any Secretary of the VA should adhere to the process, required by law, and follow the facts, as Secretary Shinseki has done.

Fourth, the evidence for inclusion of diabetes mellitus type II as a presumptive disease is very strong. It is true that people are more prone to develop type II diabetes as they age, but the facts of the matter are that Vietnam veterans are at least more than twice as likely to develop this disease as the non-veterans in our cohort group, when balanced for age, weight, exercise, and diet. The same is true of prostate cancer and other service-connected presumptive conditions.

This points, yet again, to the need for federal funding of additional research into the adverse health impacts on Vietnam veterans, on our children, and on our grandchildren, by respected independent scientific entities outside of the VA. This is just as evident today as it was twenty years ago. The clear need for such research is even more pressing today, given the number of Vietnam veterans who have died well before their time in the last twenty years, and the number who are continuing to die early because of the ravages resulting from exposure to Agent Orange/dioxin in Southeast Asia.

Lastly, there have been media reports that the amendment to Emergency Supplemental Appropriation by Senator Webb would delay the process, and thus delay the payment of justly due back compensation to affected veterans, pushing off the time when veterans who are owed back compensation actually will receive their entitled compensation. This simply is not the case. Neither action by Senator Webb nor anyone else has thus far caused any action that will slow down the payment of claims as soon as the VA can work though the public rule-making process to get this accomplished.

We urge all affected Vietnam veterans and eligible surviving dependents to file claims for the newly presumptive diseases associated with Agent Orange: Parkinson’s disease, B Cell leukemias, and ischemic heart disease. These diseases bring the total to 14 illness categories that entitle Vietnam veterans–and veterans who served along the demilitarized zone in Korea in 1968 and 1969–to health care and disability compensation. VVA also contends that many Vietnam-era veterans were also exposed in their service elsewhere in Southeast Asia during the war, including in Thailand and Laos , and aboard Navy vessels off the coast of Vietnam , as well as certain military bases located in the continental U.S. and its territories.

Among the other diseases recognized by the VA as presumptive to exposure to Agent Orange are diabetes mellitus (Type 2), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, prostate cancer, and respiratory cancers (of the lung, bronchus, larynx, or trachea). Additional information about these and other presumptive diseases and long-term health care risks for veterans can be found at the Veterans Health Council web site, www.veteranshealth.org, and in the VVA Self-help Guide to Service-Connected Disability Compensation For Exposure to Agent Orange at www.vva.org/Guides/AgentOrangeGuide.pdf

--30--

www.vva.org

Shinseki Stopped Hearing on AO Decision

http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,216032,00.html?ESRC=topstories.RSS

Tom Philpott | June 10, 2010
Bookmark and Share

Shinseki Stopped Hearing on Agent Orange Decision

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki met with Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, last month to ask that he cancel a hearing on the secretary's controversial decision to add three diseases to the list of Vietnam veteran illnesses presumed caused by exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used in that war.

Akaka reluctantly agreed, an informed source told Military Update. The VA thus avoided a brighter public spotlight, so far, on a decision that will help tens of thousands of veterans but also will add $13.6 billion to VA compensation claims in a single year.

Akaka and Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), a committee member, are pressing Shinseki outside of the hearing process to explain last October's decision to add heart disease, Parkinson's disease and B-cell leukemia to the list of illnesses presumed caused by Agent Orange.

Gagetown in New Brunswick - Agent Orange compensation deadline Sept. 17

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/9016821.html

Agent Orange compensation deadline Sept. 17


Fri. Jun 11 - 7:33 AM

People who worked at or lived near CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick more than 40 years ago have a little time left to apply for Agent Orange-related compensation.

Veterans Affairs Canada bureaucrat Barry Gallant said all information must be in by Sept. 17. Gallant also told the pro­vincial veterans affairs committee Thurs­day that there is no authorization for payments after Oct. 1.

Ottawa announced a compensation program in 2007 for people who worked at or lived within five kilometres of the New Brunswick military base in 1966 or 1967.

The federal compensation is $20,000.

Gallant said 618 Nova Scotians have sub­mitted applications and 396 have been approved. Two are in progress and the rest were declined.

Senator challenges VA's coverage of 3 new illnesses linked to Agent Orange

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-08/health/ct-va-agent-orange-20100608_1_vietnam-veterans-enemy-crops-agent-orange


June 08, 2010|By Jason Grotto and Tim Jones, Tribune Newspapers

Citing the billions more it will cost, Sen. Jim Webb asks VA secretary for explanation as he freezes funds to pay for expansion of coverage


A U.S. senator who is also a highly decorated Vietnam veteran has called into question the spiraling costs of disability claims stemming from veterans' exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides during the Vietnam War.

Late last week, Sen. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat and former secretary of the Navy, sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki — another decorated Vietnam veteran — raising concerns over Shinseki's move to add three more illnesses to the list of ailments for which the VA provides compensation.

Webb asked the secretary to explain his decision to the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, on which Webb serves. At the same time, Webb also pushed through an amendment to an emergency supplemental bill that would delay by two months the transfer of $13.4 billion to cover the VA's costs for the new ailments while Congress reviews Shinseki's order.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-08/health/ct-va-agent-orange-20100608_1_vietnam-veterans-enemy-crops-agent-orange

Betty Mekdeci - Birth Defects Registry for Children

http://vva.org/Faces_Of_AO/Mekdeci031610.pdf


Betty Mekdeci
By Jim Belshaw
If there is a moment that represents the long battle Betty Mekdeci fought to shine a light on the origins of birth defects, it might be when a court’s representative wrote to her about an Agent Orange project she proposed. She was told it was far beyond her ability. It was simply too big. “Awesome,” the letter said. She could not possibly do it.
“That made me so angry,” she said. “You just didn’t tell me that I couldn’t do something. It made me really mad.”
She had been engaged in the fight for birth defect information for some years. She was the co-founder and executive director of Birth Defect Research for Children, Inc. She had been in courtrooms, going up against high-powered opposing attorneys and, in some cases, even her own attorneys. She didn’t do well in those court cases. Then someone told her she wouldn’t do well on her own, either.
“I had been thinking a lot about birth defect research globally, why we couldn’t learn anything, why typical studies didn’t work, and how the major causes of birth defects had been discovered. They had all been discovered by cluster identification or what we call an Alert Practitioner, who is someone who starts seeing a number of unusual birth defects. Then they look into the background of these cases and find a common factor.”
She set out to create her own Alert Practitioner, one involving thousands of people, people who were desperate to learn about birth defects.
Birth Defect Research for Children is a non-profit organization providing parents with information about birth defects and support services for children. The BDRC sponsors the National Birth Defect Registry, a research project that studies the links between birth defects and a number of causes, among them exposure to Agent Orange, an issue of particular note to Vietnam veterans.
Her interest in birth defects began in 1975, when her son was born with birth defects. Eventually, she would link those defects to a drug she had been prescribed (along with many other women) – Bendectin. Her efforts would lead to the removal of Bendectin from the world market. The initial search for information began with Betty and her mother.
In 1982, she and her husband, Mike, founded the Association of Birth Defect Children, now called Birth Defect Research for Children.

Read more at: http://vva.org/Faces_Of_AO/Mekdeci031610.pdf


Significant numbers of Vietnam veterans have children and grandchildren with birth defects related to exposure to Agent Orange. To alert legislators and the media to this ongoing legacy of the war, we are seeking real stories about real people. If you wish to share your family’s health struggles that you believe are due to Agent Orange/dioxin, send an email to mporter@vva.org or call 301-585-4000, Ext. 146.

Dark Politricks

Victims of Victims
June 7, 2010
Chuck Palazzo
Da Nang, Vietnam

http://www.darkpolitricks.com/2010/06/victims-of-victims/

Saturday afternoon, the heat of the summer is upon us in Da Nang. The comforts I enjoyed back in the US still exist for me in some ways – air-conditioning, hot water, a decent meal. I am reminded every moment of every day, however, that this is Da Nang, Vietnam. This is my adopted new home. I am also reminded each and every day that I am one of the fortunate few. Still relatively healthy. So many of my own as well as millions of Vietnamese are not so fortunate.

Why Da Nang? It is where I first landed. It is where, as a very young Marine, my political and human beliefs changed dramatically. I realized, first hand, that what we did as an American Nation was wrong. The effects of Agent Orange immediately manifested themselves on the environment here so many years ago. Sprayed by the US on the jungles, on the rice fields, the river banks, on the people – spilled onto the runways, the tarmacs, the storage facilities. Leached into the water supply, the food supplies. The crops, the animals and the humans – the children, the adults, the elderly. Plants and trees withered quickly, just to die and never to return to normalcy again. The toll on the animals and sea life were next – it was slow, but gradual and deadly. The water supply was contaminated early on – but the lies from the US Government as well as from Monsanto and Dow were told with such convincing and straight-faced language, the people of this country, as well as I and my fellow veterans believed it. “Agent Orange is not harmful or deadly to human beings”, said the liars. “In fact, you can drink it and nothing would happen to you”, was stated time and time again by these greed filled and soul-less people.
The lies continued over the years and remain so to this day. My own government refuses to accept responsibility. The chemical companies continue to lie. All of them continue to fill their bank accounts. The tragedy? Today, 4 generations after the first spraying occurred, people continue to die. Children continue to be born with severe physical and mental deformities. Disease is rampant. Satan himself could not have contrived such an ideal evil. Over 7 million victims and still counting by the second.

Read more: http://www.darkpolitricks.com/2010/06/victims-of-victims/

Monsanto seeds in Haiti: Haitian farmers' epic struggle for survival

http://thehaitianblogger.blogspot.com/2010/06/monsanto-seeds-in-haiti-haitian-farmers.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-steve-gutow/the-troops-go-home-but-th_b_600909.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beverly-bell/groups-around-the-us-join_b_600941.html


Monsanto Board of Directors


* Frank V. AtLee, III
* John W. Bachmann
* David L. Chicoine
* Janice L. Fields
* Hugh Grant
* Arthur H. Harper
* Gwendolyn S. King
* C. Steven McMillan
* William U. Parfet
* George H. Poste, Ph. D., D.V.M.
* Robert J. Stevens

Read their bio's at:
http://www.monsanto.com/responsibility/corp_gov/directors.asp#atlee

Want to let Monsanto know how you feel?
http://www.monsanto.com/who_we_are/contact_us.asp

Renaissance Journalism Center Awards 15 Journalists Vietnam Reporting Fellowships

http://www.rjcmedia.org/updates/renaissance-journalism-center-awards-15-journalists-vietnam-reporting-fellowships

15 top journalists to report on toxic legacy left in Vietnam by the use of the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

Post by Whitney Wilcox on May 26th at 10:09am

San Francisco – The Renaissance Journalism Center has chosen 15 top journalists for a reporting fellowship program that will enable them to investigate the toxic legacy left in Vietnam by the use of the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

The Vietnam Reporting Project Fellowship is designed to use the power of journalism to raise public awareness about the health and environmental problems that continue to affect Vietnam and its people. During the war, the U.S. military defoliated millions of acres of forest and farmland by spraying Agent Orange. The herbicide contained dioxin, a highly toxic organic pollutant linked to cancers, diabetes, birth defects and disabilities.

“Even though the war ended 35 years ago, the toxic impact of Agent Orange lives on, damaging the lives of millions of people,” said Jon Funabiki, executive director of the Renaissance Journalism Center, which is based at San Francisco State University. “Journalists can put a human face on this all-to-forgotten tragedy and help the general public to understand the full dimensions of the problem. Unfortunately, many news organizations are so financially strapped that they can’t afford to send reporters to the scene.”

Read more at: http://www.rjcmedia.org/updates/renaissance-journalism-center-awards-15-journalists-vietnam-reporting-fellowships

VVA Guide on preparing claims for service-connected entitlements relating to herbicide exposure - February 2010

VVA Self-Help Guide to Agent Orange Claims has been updated.

Get the February 2010 edition at:

http://www.vva.org/Guides/AgentOrangeGuide.pdf

"Please Don’t Hesitate To Ask"

via Paul Sutton

This is a response to an email sent to Gen. Shineski about the New Rule from:

Robert C. McFetridge
Director, Regulation Policy and Management (02REG)
Office of the General Counsel
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave, N.W., Room 1064
Washington, D.C. 20420
202-461-4932

On behalf of Secretary Shinseki, thank you for your note. We appreciate your concern. There has been a great deal of confusion in the public concerning the Secretary’s announcement that he intended to create presumptive service connections for three diseases linked to Agent Orange. It’s unfortunate that the media coverage did not include an explanation that the law requires VA to publish both a proposed rule and a final rule in the Federal Register before the Secretary’s decision can be implemented.

Under the laws and executive orders governing the Federal rulemaking process, it normally takes agencies about two years to publish final regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations, although the Agent Orange statute in this case prescribes a much shorter timeframe. We are attempting to reconcile those laws so that veterans will not be adversely affected by delays in the Federal rulemaking process. This regulation is one of our highest priorities and we hope to complete it in less than half the time normally required, by expediting its processing within VA and by asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to shorten their required review period.

We published the proposed rule, 2900-AN54, Diseases Associated With Exposure to Certain Herbicide Agents (Hairy Cell Leukemia and other Chronic B Cell Leukemias, Parkinson’s Disease and Ischemic Heart Disease), in the Federal Register on March 25, 2010. We felt that we had good cause to shorten the public comment period from 60 days to 30 days in order to help make this process go a little faster. When the public comment period closed on April 26, 2010, VA had received 669 public comments on the proposed rule. Since that time, regulatory staff at the Compensation and Pension Service have been working very hard reviewing, categorizing, and responding to these comments in a final rule. We are hopeful that they can complete the drafting stage this month so that the document can be submitted for legal review and coordination within VA. Once that is completed and the Secretary approves the final rule, we must deliver the document to OMB for review. OMB is authorized by executive order to take up to 90 days to complete their review, but we will be asking them to do their best to expedite their clearance. Once the final rule clears OMB, VA will publish it in the Federal Register, usually 3 to 4 days later, and the regulation would become effective on that date of publication. Because of the enormous cost of this rule, however, AN54 is subject to another Federal law. It is considered an economically significant “major rule” under the Congressional Review Act, which requires agencies to wait 60 days after publication in the Federal Register for Congress to review final rules before they are implemented. However, that law should not interfere with VA’s processing of claims, and I understand that veterans are being encouraged to submit their claims as soon as possible, even though the regulation is not yet in effect.

I have provided this lengthy and technical explanation so that you can see why it’s difficult to predict just how soon this regulation can be published. As the Secretary’s delegate for monitoring VA’s progress in publishing important regulations, my best guess is that if all goes well with the final drafting and during the legal review, we might be able to submit the final rule to OMB for review by the end of June. If OMB needs the full 90 days to complete their review, we would expect to publish this regulation by October, 2010.

I hope this candid explanation is helpful, even though it’s not what you were hoping to hear. At least you can inform your husband and our fellow veterans that despite any other information they may have heard from other sources, you got your information “straight from the horse’s mouth.” And this regulation is moving about as quickly as it can, given all the legal requirements of the Federal rulemaking process.

If you need further information, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Sincerely,

Bob
Robert C. McFetridge
Director, Regulation Policy and Management (02REG)
Office of the General Counsel
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave, N.W., Room 1064
Washington, D.C. 20420
202-461-4932

http://www.guamagentorange.info/

http://www.guamagentorange.info/


This site is for anybody who wants to tell their story about anything they know about Agent Orange or any other chemicals and dangerous contamination on Guam. We welcome anyone that is interested including Veterans, Civilians, or Contractors.
This site is also for anyone trying to gain more knowledge on this subject.