Photo, Army Times, 1969
As part of the continuing saga, we update you once again …
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) met last Tuesday (18 September) with the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wilkie, to persuade him to cease his and his department’s re-doubled efforts to scuttle H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Act, now in the Senate for consideration. (more…)
The behavior of the Senate on the issue of the Blue Water Navy’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam Conflict has been less than noble — nor has it done its job. Over the decades, it has conveniently allowed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to lead it by the nose and to provide an excuse for inaction. (more…)
H.R. 299, The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017 [2018], introduced by Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) edged one step closer to passage on 25 June with a 382-0 House vote. If enacted, the Act would restore eligibility for VA healthcare and disability compensation for (more…)
Is there some good news on the horizon now that our legislators have found a way to pay for it? We are talking about H.R. 299 (Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017), which passed out of House Veterans Affairs Committee on 8 May. There is a long way to go, but in the past this bill has been killed in this committee. (more…)
On July 29, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that District Court has no jurisdiction to review actions of the Secretary of the VA. This case was on appeal from an earlier ruling by the Federal District Court on the matter. The Read more…
The subject of the effect of hazardous, toxic exposures of military veterans has milled around in the houses of Congress for far too many years. Involved is our our obligation to our veterans to find the root causes of birth defects, learning disabilities, and cancers afflicting too many of their children and grandchildren. Therefore, “mill around mill” is not a Congressional virtue on such a topic.
Unfortunately, for years certain public officials have insisted and held sway on the issue without sufficient research to back their claim. Their claim seems to revolve around the assertion that male veterans exposed to Agent Orange can not transmit genetic defects to their children. While the VA has made provision for the children of Vietnam War Vietnam women veterans for certain diagnoses (without acknowledging the effects of Agent Orange, we might add), it has made absolutely none for the children of its male veterans. In our opinion that is an awkwardly strange position and a discriminatory one. (more…)
Editor’s Note: It has been written about before on this blogsite, but the September 19 date for the Lehigh Valley’s first Agent Orange Seminar is nigh and we think it important that you do not miss out on a chance to educate yourselves because your children may be affected — whether or not you are a Vietnam War veteran or ever served. It is high time to register and reserve a seat.
Expert speakers from as far away as the state of Maryland are coming to the Lipkin Theatre, the site of the seminar. Dr. Peter Kahn of the Department of Biochemistry & Microbiology at Rutgers University; Dr. Tom Berger of the Vietnam Veterans of America’s (VVA) Veterans Health Center; Professor Kelly Allen of the Sustainability Committee of Northampton Community College; Paul Sutton, the VVA’s special advisor to the National Committee on Agent Orange and Mike Eckstein, the VVA State Council Chair for New Jersey’s Agent Orange efforts, will all speak.
This is an unique opportunity to listen and learn about a subject constantly in the papers but not well understood. The Press Release below tells you more: (more…)
Editor’s Note: We wish to bring your attention to something we consider to be a very special event in the Lehigh Valley — a seminar on Agent Orange not only for veterans, but also their progeny and the general public. Pennsylvania VVA Chapter 415 of the Vietnam Veterans of America is sponsoring it and is bringing in well-known, national-level speakers, some with academic credentials. Please note we’re using the term “Agent Orange” as an umbrella term for several different kinds of herbicides used in Vietnam … and in the United States.
You may be asking yourself why invite the progeny of veterans and the general public, for weren’t the effects of Agent Orange limited to those military veterans who served in Vietnam? It is because, many believe, more than military veterans have been affected but also their progeny and, additionally, the general public — these products were not only used in Vietnam. Consequently, the chapter is seeking to heighten their awareness through education and to gain their assistance in pushing needed government research studies long overdue and resisted. The Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs and other departments of government may have been turning a blind eye to a matter of importance to all of us.
For more information and how to register for the event, refer to the article below, which is being republished with the kind permission of its author and appeared in the June 2015 issue of Lifestyles over 50. (more…)
VA Extends Disability Benefits to Air Force Personnel Exposed to Contaminated C-123 Aircraft
On 18 June, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a long-awaited regulation that expands eligibility for some benefits for a select group of Air Force Veterans and Air Force Reserve personnel who were exposed to the herbicide Agent Orange through regular and repeated contact with contaminated C-123 aircraft that had been used in Vietnam as part of Operation Ranch Hand (ORH). (more…)