| HR 6562 - The Agent Orange Equity Act of 2008 Congress Must Act to Restore Earned Benefits to All Vietnam Veterans - Including "Blue Water" Vets! |
There are many MAC/MATS aircrew who flew into Vietnam but who never were on orders to a location in Vietnam. They have had a hard time establishing their eligibility for VA treatment for ailments presumed to be associated with Agent Orange.
Today, I received info on the legislation above. Check out http://veterans.house.gov/news/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=290 for more detail and write to your congressional representative.
Cal Taylor
4 comments:
I was in that situation. I flew in and out of Vietnam from Travis and Norton. I did not have any problem convincing the VA that I had been there. I have a flight evaluation form which specifically referenced being at Bien Hoa and Saigon. That was all it took.
I can see where this legislation will make it easier for some but I also see where it could cause even more problems.
Whoever you are, Anonymous, thank you for visiting our blog and leaving a Comment!
I was at the introduction of the bill. One of the things I insisted upon when asking for this legislation was the inclusion of the "Blue Sky" Air Force Veterans who were stripped of their Agent Orange benefits in 1993 by the DVA, just as the Blue Water Navy Veterans were stripped of their benefits in 2002.
Congressman Filner's intent is to revert the criteria for presumptive exposure to Agent Orance to receipt of the Vietnam Service Medal. The bill, even though in its infancy, includes language that is specifically aimed at restoring benefits to the Air Force.
Also, we are in receipt of a letter [to an Air Force Veteran who served in Thailand, that Filner intends to include the TLC Veterans [those who served in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia] and received the Vietnam Service Medal. There will be more changes to the bill as it wends its way through Congress. This is HR 6562.
At the same time we are pressing for passage of a recently introduced bill [HR 6798 - Kagen [D-WI], whichj would add cancers of the gastro intestinal tract, including pancreatic, liver, and biliary cancer, to the list of Agent Orange diseases.
One other bill that already passed the House and is in the Senate now is HR 5892 - Hall [D-NY], which corrects many administrative deficiencies in the DVA, in addidition to fixing the widow's problem [widows will no longer have to recert to square one when their husband's die while a claim is in process. They can pick up as the claimant, and have an additional year to file evidence. The bill also expands the jurisdiction of the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to include the merits of the claim, rather than just the process itself.
If you would like to follow the progress of this and join our fight come visit the VNVets Blog at
http://vnvets.blogspot.com
We've added your blog to our link list.
Thank you, VNVets, for your important contribution to our blog. I'm going to re-Post it for better visibility, AND send it out to our e-mail list to bring attention to it.
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