The Fair Care for Vietnam Veterans Act, which provides additional VA coverage for veterans exposed to Agent Orange, has been included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
If this provision of the NDAA is made into law, the VA’s current list of Veteran’s Diseases Associated with Agent Orange will expand to include bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and Parkinson’s-like symptoms. This means Vietnam veterans who were exposed to the herbicide could receive special benefits from the VA.
The bill was introduced earlier this year by California Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, and sponsored by Senator Jon Tester, D-MT. The bill passed in the Senate in July but still required House approval before it could be made into law.
Rep. Harder garnered strong bipartisan support in recent weeks, leading to his bill’s inclusion in the NDAA. The defense budget act is still awaiting a signature from President Donald Trump, though there is no indication that this provision of the NDAA has serious opposition.
VSOs for VA Coverage of Agent Orange
Agent Orange is a tactical herbicide that was chiefly used by the United States throughout the Vietnam War to eliminate forest cover and choke North Vietnamese and Viet Cong’s supply lines. It was later determined that exposure to Agent Orange can lead to serious and significant health problems.
In the decades following the war, the VA began offering special benefits for those suffering from the effects of exposure to the herbicide, but these benefits were limited to strict criteria.
Many VSOs, including The American Legion, have since lobbied Congress to add more diseases to the VA’s recognized list of illnesses related to Agent Orange. As recently as June 2019, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act began offering benefits for blue water Navy veterans suffering from presumed complications of Agent Orange exposure.
If the new bill is accepted into law, as many as 83,000 veterans in the United States—including many who live in California—could benefit significantly from the changes.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
