Valadao, Colleagues Urge House Leadership to Pass Vietnam Veterans LegislationH.R. 299 Aims to Expand Benefits for Vietnam Veterans
U.S. Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21), joined by lead cosigners Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21), and Congressman Eric Swalwell (CA-15) sent a letter to Speaker of the House Paul D. Ryan urging the House of Representatives to pass H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act as soon as possible.
WASHINGTON – On December 22, 2017, U.S. Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21), joined by lead cosigners Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21), and Congressman Eric Swalwell (CA-15) sent a letter to Speaker of the House Paul D. Ryan urging the House of Representatives to pass H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act as soon as possible.In January, Congressman Valadao introduced H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act to grant presumptive Agent Orange exposure status to U.S. service members who served in the territorial seas of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. This would enable eligible veterans to receive expedited consideration for Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits if they suffer from any of the diseases the U.S. Government has linked to Agent Orange.
In the letter, U.S. Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21) urges Speaker Ryan to either provide a pay-for solution or bypass House PAYGO requirements to bring H.R. 299 to the Floor for a vote. Currently, H.R. 299 has been cosponsored by 321 Members of Congress, nearly three fourths of the U.S. House of Representatives, and has received the support of almost every single veteran’s service organization. The complete text of the letter can be found here. 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. Key Provisions:
Congressman David G. Valadao represents the 21st Congressional District, which includes Kings County and portions of Fresno, Tulare, and Kern Counties.
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