Bill Text: HI SCR47 | 2021 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Urging The Department Of Veterans Affairs To Recognize A Presumptive Service Connection For Chronically Ill Veterans Who Were Stationed At Kunia Field On The Island Of Oahu.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-21 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06-21-21. [SCR47 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2021-SCR47-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
47 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO RECOGNIZE A PRESUMPTIVE SERVICE CONNECTION FOR CHRONICALLY ILL VETERANS WHO WERE STATIONED AT KUNIA FIELD ON THE ISLAND OF OAHU.
WHEREAS, Kunia Field Station was constructed on the island of Oahu during World War II to serve as an underground bomb-proof aircraft assembly plant; and
WHEREAS, since its construction, the field station has served as a command center for the United States Navy, an operations center for Kunia Regional Security, and currently serves as an operations center for the National Security Agency; and
WHEREAS, Kunia Field Station is located under former pineapple fields near Wheeler Army Airfield and Schofield Barracks and was exposed to pesticides, herbicides, fumigants, smoke, and other toxins and carcinogens while pineapple agriculture was active, from approximately 1940 to 2008; and
WHEREAS, a chemical spill in 1977 and a flood in 1991 further exposed the area and its drinking water to toxic substances, including the soil fumigant ethylene dibromide (EDB), identified as a probable human carcinogen; and
WHEREAS, a report issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 found multiple contaminants in ground water and soil at the Kunia Field Station site, including EDB; and
WHEREAS, A report by the Navy and the National Security Agency in 2000 indicated the presence of arsenic and lead in the field station's air intake system, in addition to moderate to high levels of fungal contamination due to air ventilation problems and high moisture levels; and
WHEREAS, many veterans who were stationed at Kunia Field Station have developed cancer, neurological conditions, dementia, and other chronic illnesses; and
WHEREAS, the official position of the Department of Veterans Affairs is that veterans stationed at Kunia Field Station were not exposed to toxic substances, making it difficult for these veterans to receive medical care and long-term services; and
WHEREAS, Kunia Field Station veterans and their advocates argue that they have been denied access to the government records needed to conclusively link their illnesses to toxic exposure; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Veterans Affairs is urged to recognize a presumptive service connection for chronically ill veterans who were stationed at Kunia Field and to provide medical care and long-term services regardless of the veterans' ability to conclusively link their conditions to toxic exposure; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Air Force, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.
Department of Veterans Affairs; Kunia Field Station
