WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 5, 2017 – U.S. Rep. Dennis A. Ross (FL-15), Senior Deputy Majority Whip, made the following statement after becoming an original cosponsor of H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, which would provide presumptive Agent Orange exposure status to veterans who served in the waters off the coast of Vietnam and currently suffer from any of the diseases the U.S. government associates with this toxic herbicide:
“I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this important legislation because we need to ensure our selfless and courageous veterans receive the care and respect they deserve. Many of my very own constituents have been denied claims by the VA in regards to Agent Orange exposure diseases, including retired U.S. Merchant Marine Capt. Thomas Walden of Plant City, and it is completely unacceptable. Capt. Walden put his life on the line to serve and protect our great nation and its people, and for the VA to deny his claim for help with his Agent Orange-related diseases is greatly disheartening and tragic.
“There is absolutely no reason those veterans who served in the waters off the coast of Vietnam and currently suffer from diseases related to Agent Orange exposure should not qualify for current VA care. As we have decried for too many years now, the VA needs to be much more responsive to our veterans. They are the backbone of the freedom and prosperity America has enjoyed for more than two hundred years, and I refuse to let their sacrifices and service go undervalued and unnoticed. Turning our backs on them is truly un-American, bottom line.”
Background:
- During the Vietnam War, more than 20 million gallons of the herbicide “Agent Orange” were sprayed to remove jungle foliage. A toxic chemical in the herbicide has since been linked to devastating health effects, including non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL), various cancers, Type II Diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease.
- The Agent Orange Act of 1991 (AOA) empowered the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to declare certain illnesses “presumptive” to exposure to Agent Orange and enabled veterans to receive disability compensation for these related conditions.
- However, in 2002, the VA stopped giving benefits to blue water veterans and limited the scope of the AOA to only those veterans who could provide proof of “boots on the ground” in Vietnam. As a result, veterans who served in the waters off of the Vietnamese coast or in bays and harbors were required to file individual claims to restore their benefits, which have then been decided on a case-by-case basis.
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