'Blue Water' Navy veterans finally could get Agent Orange benefits

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WASHINGTON -- The House unanimously passed legislation Monday that would extend Department of Veterans Affairs benefits to approximately 90,000 sailors who served off the coast during the Vietnam War, some of whom have been fighting for years to prove their illnesses were caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

Lawmakers voted 382-0 in favor of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, which must go to the Senate for final approval. It provides eligibility for disability compensation to "Blue Water" Navy veterans -- those sailors aboard aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other ships who contend they were exposed to Agent Orange through the ships' water systems. The dioxin-laden herbicide has been found to cause respiratory cancers, Parkinson's disease and heart disease, as well as other conditions.

"Every day, thousands of brave veterans who served in the Vietnam War fight the health effects of Agent Orange exposure," said Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., the bill's lead sponsor. "It is far past time we pass this critical legislation and give them the comfort and care they deserve."

Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said the legislation would correct a "long-standing injustice."

A VA policy decision in 2002 stripped Blue Water Navy veterans of their eligibility for compensation, unless they could prove they set foot in Vietnam. Bills were introduced in 2011, 2013 and 2015 to address the problem, but progress stalled because of cost concerns.

Extending the benefits for 10 years would cost $1.1 billion, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. To make up the cost, the legislation raises fees for servicemembers and veterans who use the VA's home loan program. The increase amounts to between $2.14 and $2.95 each month.

"It has taken years of dedicated advocacy and bipartisanship to get us here today," Takano said. "Finding over $1 billion in the federal budget is not an easy task. The solution in this bill is fair."

H.R. 5671, Burn Pits Accountability Act

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Two Army combat veterans support federal legislation would “direct the Secretary of Defense to include in periodic health assessments, separation history and physical examinations, and other assessments an evaluation of whether a member of the Armed Forces has been exposed to open burn pits or toxic airborne chemicals,” according to the text of the bill.

The legislation, H.R. 5671, Burn Pits Accountability Act, introduced by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), an Iraq veteran, and cosponsored by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), an Afghanistan veteran and double amputee, addresses this important topic - especially to our veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bill seeks to address a problem experienced by many of my fellow veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who have been exposed to open burn pits and other toxic chemicals while deployed and who have themselves later become afflicted with rare cancers and other health issues. These veterans, when addressing their health issues with the VA, have been consistently told it is - like was said for many years with regard to veterans exposed to Agent Orange - not supported by science.

The Burn Pits Accountability Act would evaluate the exposure of U.S. servicemembers and veterans to open burn pits and toxic airborne chemicals by:

Requiring the Secretary of Defense to record whether servicemembers have been “based or stationed at a location where an open burn pit was used or exposed to toxic airborne chemicals, including any information recorded as part of the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry,” in Periodic Health Assessments (PHAs), Separation History Physical Examination (SHPEs), and Post-Deployment Health Assessment (PDHAs).

Just a reminder - Veterans' Diseases Associated with Agent Orange

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VA assumes that certain diseases can be related to a Veteran's qualifying military service. We call these "presumptive diseases."

VA has recognized certain cancers and other health problems as presumptive diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service. Veterans and their survivors may be eligible for benefits for these diseases.

•             AL Amyloidosis

•             Chronic B-cell Leukemias

•             Chloracne (or similar acneform disease)

•             Diabetes Mellitus Type 2

•             Hodgkin's Disease

•             Ischemic Heart Disease

•             Multiple Myeloma

•             Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

•             Parkinson's Disease

•             Peripheral Neuropathy, Early-Onset

•             Porphyria Cutanea Tarda

•             Prostate Cancer

•             Respiratory Cancers (includes lung cancer)

•             Soft Tissue Sarcomas (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or mesothelioma)

Guam awaits Agent Orange soil testing results

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Guam awaits the results of a laboratory analysis done on soil samples collected in April within Andersen Air Force Base, to see whether they have traces of Agent Orange, a hazardous defoliant.

Members of the group who call themselves the "Agent Orange Survivors of Guam" are also awaiting the results, although they had said the soil sampling is a farce because the Department of Defense was directly involved with the sampling and testing.

Nic Rupley Lee, public information officer for the Guam Environmental Protection Agency, said as of Monday, the test result validation was still in process.

Two labs performed analysis on samples

There are two laboratories that performed analysis on the soil samples and are validating the test results:

o   A laboratory tapped by AECOM, a private contractor selected by Naval Facilities Engineering      Command Marianas to assist in developing the work plan and defining the quality assurance procedures, then later performed the soil sampling.

o   A laboratory chosen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Lee acknowledged a previous Guam EPA statement that sample analysis and data validation was expected to be complete in approximately 60 to 90 days from the date soil samples were collected, from April 23 to 26. The 60-day period falls this week.

Vets with bladder cancer could wait years for government to recognize Agent Orange link

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WASHINGTON — Vietnam War veteran Robert Lytle was diagnosed in 2009 with bladder cancer, a disease that he believes — and science now suggests — is linked to the chemical herbicide Agent Orange.

In the past nine years, Lytle has undergone three surgeries. Doctors removed eight malignant tumors from his bladder. The Department of Veterans Affairs has denied his requests for disability compensation three times.

“I volunteered to go to Vietnam in 1970,” said Lytle, now 70 and living in Metter, Ga. “That wasn’t the coolest thing. That didn’t get you a lot of dates. I just feel like… I just feel they owe me.”

The federal government is considering whether to add bladder cancer to a list of diseases presumed to be caused by Agent Orange, but veterans might wait another two years before a decision is reached.

VA leadership informed the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs last week that the government is waiting on results of two studies, the second of which isn’t expected to be complete until 2020, committee staff said.

For Lytle and other veterans and their families, it’s already been a long wait.

AGENT ORANGE TOWN HALL MEETING SCHEDULE - MARK THE DATE

Vet realtor pulls alarm on plan to fund ‘blue water’ Navy bill

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The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s plan to pay for a bill to extend Agent Orange disability benefits to 90,000 “blue water” Navy veterans of the Vietnam War — by raising funding fees under the Department of Veterans Affairs guaranty home loan program — will not continue to shield all disabled veterans from a funding fee, as the committee claimed last month as it cleared the bill for consideration of the full House.

The charge is made by “G2” Varrato II, a Phoenix Realtor, Air Force retiree, and director of the Veterans Association for Real Estate Professionals (VAREP) for the state of Arizona. The committee does not dispute Varrato’s argument that veterans with disabilities rated below 100 percent would see their waiver of a VA loan funding fee disappear if they use their benefit on mortgages that exceed the Freddie Mac conforming loan limit, a program expansion the committee bill allows.

Every major veteran service organization publicly endorsed the committee’s amended version of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act (HR 299), which includes a new strategy to cover the bill’s $1 billion estimated cost for expanding Agent Orange-related benefits by charging slightly higher VA home loan funding fees and making other changes to the VA loan program.

It’s unclear now whether advocacy groups understood that certain disabled veterans, those with VA ratings below 100 percent, would be hit with their first VA home loan funding fees ever if they were to take advantage of the jumbo long feature.

The Rant: Monsanto disappears in merger

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Bayer, the giant German pharmaceutical company is buying Monsanto for $63 billion and dropping Monsanto’s name in the acquisition. Monsanto is one of the most despised companies in the world, so the reason for the name deletion is obvious. Monsanto makes dioxin (in Agent Orange), PCBs, glysophate (Roundup), and genetically modified seeds (GMOs).

Bayer says, “The combination of the two businesses will allow us to deliver more innovation faster and provide solutions tailored to the needs of farmers around the world...Going forward, our teams in the labs and in the field will be able to take a much more holistic approach to innovation as we address the enormous challenges we face in agriculture.”

Translation: By forcing farmers to buy our GMO seeds, which requires farmers to spray our poisons on their crops, regardless of the environmental impact on people, plants, animals and insects, we now can make even more money for our shareholders.

Preparing for an onslaught of criticism, Bayer CEO Werner Baumann says, “We aim to deepen our dialogue with society. We will listen to our critics and work together where we find common ground. Agriculture is too important to allow ideological differences to bring progress to a standstill. We have to talk to each other. We need to listen to each other. It’s the only way to build bridges.”

Tampa Bay lawmaker drafts bill to help vets exposed to burn pits

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TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. -- After 10News revealed a possible treatment for veterans exposed to burn pits, there's finally some action for tens of thousands of suffering vets.

Burn pit exposure is an epidemic with many consequences that veterans deal with years after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Following a story in January, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R - New Port Richey) drafted legislation to help get veterans the health care and coverage they need right away.

Joe Hernandez was exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan when the military burned waste like chemicals, ammunition, oil and other items they had to get rid of.

Years after coming home, Hernandez noticed he was feeling weak.

"If I can't breathe or I don't feel well because I can't breathe, then what was the point of coming back alive," he said.

Hernandez is among thousands of veterans who have signed the VA's burn pit registry.

"I mean some of the stories are so very sad," he said. "These are our heroes we're talking about. They need health care immediately and they need to get their disability payments approved immediately."

Bilirakis drafted legislation that would give veterans presumptive status, making them eligible for health care and coverage right away.

VA OIG Report Reveals Continued Failure To Hire Enough Doctors

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A report from VA OIG shows VA is still failing to hire enough doctors and nurses despite record taxpayer funding and heightened focus on increasing hiring in those vital categories.

A survey conducted in January 2018 of VA medical center directors revealed continued staffing shortages in key roles without the agency. At the top of the list were doctors and nurses. Human resources professional and police were also on the list of shortages.

The top reasons cited for the shortages were:

               Lack of qualified applicants

               Non-competitive salary

               High staff turnover

Basically, the list reveals widespread corruption in the agency and well-known whistleblower retaliation has damaged hiring capabilities in key occupations. The damage is so bad that record funds and increased spending in propaganda to deflate negative news still is not working to increase the applicant pool.

And who would want to take that risk with their career?

Think about it. As a medical doctor, the individual spent over ten years in training and invested over $200,000 to become a doctor. If that doctor, while at VA, reports malpractice or some other wrongdoing, the agency immediately retaliates by revoking the doctor’s privileges and destroying their reputation.

Shazam.

DOWNLOAD: IG Hiring Shortage Report

With Operation Popeye, the U.S. government made weather an instrument of war

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It was a seasonably chilly afternoon in 1974 when Senators Claiborne Pell, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and Clifford Case, a Republican from New Jersey, strode into the chambers of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for a classified briefing. While the meeting was labeled “top secret,” the topic at hand was rather mundane: They were there to discuss the weather.

More specifically, Pell, the chairman of the now-defunct subcommittee for Oceans and International Environment, and his colleague were about to learn the true extent of a secret five-year-old cloud seeding operation meant to lengthen the monsoon season in Vietnam, destabilize the enemy, and allow the United States to win the war.

Though it cycled through several names in its history, "Operation Popeye" stuck. Its stated objective—to ensure Americans won the Vietnam War—was never realized, but the revelation that the U.S. government played God with weather-altering warfare changed history. The Nixon administration distracted, denied, and, it seems, outright lied to Congress, but enterprising reporters published damning stories about rain being used as a weapon, and the Pentagon papers dripped classified details like artificial rain. Eventually, the federal government would declassify its Popeye documents and international laws aimed at preventing similar projects would be on the books. But the public would, more or less, forget it ever happened. Given the rise of geo-engineering projects, both from municipal governments and private companies, some experts believe Popeye is newly relevant.

He's dying of cancer. Now, he's the first patient to go to trial to argue Roundup made him sick

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(CNN) On bad days, Dewayne Johnson is too crippled to speak. Lesions often cover as much as 80% of his body.

Doctors have said they didn't expect him to live to see this day. But Monday marks a milestone: Johnson, 46, is the first of hundreds of cancer patients to see his case against agrochemical giant Monsanto go to trial.

Johnson, a former school groundskeeper, regularly used Roundup and claims it gave him cancer.

CNN reported last year that more than 800 patients were suing Monsanto, claiming its popular weed killer, Roundup, gave them cancer.

Since then, hundreds more non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients have made similar claims, Johnson's attorney, Timothy Litzenburg, said. He now represents "more than 2,000 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma sufferers who used Roundup extensively," he said.

Johnson, a father of two in California's Bay Area, applied Roundup weed killer 20 to 30 times per year while working as a pest manager for a county school system, his attorney said.