Bill Text: IA HR115 | 2013-2014 | 85th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A resolution urging Congress to restore the presumption of service connection for Agent Orange exposure for Vietnam veterans who served in the waters and airspace defined by the Vietnam combat zone.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-06 - Resolution filed, laid over under Rule 25. H.J. 457. [HR115 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2013-HR115-Introduced.html
House
Resolution
115
-
Introduced
HOUSE
RESOLUTION
NO.
115
BY
ALONS
,
BACON
,
BRANDENBURG
,
GUSTAFSON
,
STANERSON
,
L.
MILLER
,
SALMON
,
WINDSCHITL
,
SHAW
,
KEARNS
,
STAED
,
MUHLBAUER
,
GAINES
,
THOMAS
,
JACOBY
,
and
KAJTAZOVIC
A
Resolution
urging
Congress
to
restore
the
presumption
1
of
service
connection
for
Agent
Orange
exposure
2
for
Vietnam
veterans
who
served
in
the
waters
and
3
airspace
defined
by
the
Vietnam
combat
zone.
4
WHEREAS,
during
the
Vietnam
War,
the
United
States
5
military
sprayed
22
million
gallons
of
Agent
Orange
6
and
other
herbicides
over
Vietnam
to
reduce
forest
7
cover
and
crops
used
by
the
enemy,
with
such
herbicides
8
containing
dioxin,
which
has
since
been
identified
9
as
carcinogenic
and
has
been
linked
with
a
number
of
10
serious
and
disabling
illnesses
affecting
thousands
of
11
veterans;
and
12
WHEREAS,
the
United
States
Congress
passed
the
Agent
13
Orange
Act
of
1991,
Pub.
L.
No.
102-4,
to
address
14
the
plight
of
veterans
exposed
to
herbicides
while
15
serving
in
the
Republic
of
Vietnam
and
the
Act
amended
16
Title
38
of
the
United
States
Code
to
presumptively
17
recognize
as
service-connected
certain
diseases
among
18
military
personnel
who
served
in
Vietnam
between
1962
19
and
1975;
and
20
WHEREAS,
this
presumption
has
provided
access
to
21
appropriate
disability
compensation
and
medical
care
22
for
Vietnam
veterans
diagnosed
with
such
illnesses
as
23
Type
II
diabetes,
Hodgkin’s
disease,
non-Hodgkin’s
24
lymphoma,
prostate
cancer,
Parkinson’s
disease,
25
multiple
myeloma,
peripheral
neuropathy,
AL
amyloidosis
26
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H.R.
115
respiratory
cancers,
and
soft
tissue
sarcomas,
and
1
others
yet
to
be
identified;
and
2
WHEREAS,
since
2001,
the
United
States
Department
3
of
Veterans
Affairs
has
enforced
a
policy
that
has
4
denied
the
presumption
of
a
service
connection
for
5
herbicide-related
illnesses
to
Vietnam
veterans
who
6
cannot
furnish
written
documentation
that
they
had
7
“boots
on
the
ground”
in-country,
making
it
virtually
8
impossible
for
many
thousands
of
United
States
Navy,
9
Marine,
and
Air
Force
veterans
to
pursue
their
claims
10
for
benefits;
and
11
WHEREAS,
the
personnel
who
served
on
ships
in
the
12
“Blue
Water
Navy”
in
Vietnamese
territorial
waters
13
were,
in
fact,
exposed
to
dangerous
airborne
toxins,
14
which
not
only
drifted
offshore,
but
also
washed
15
into
streams
and
rivers
draining
into
the
South
China
16
Sea;
and
17
WHEREAS,
United
States
Navy
veterans
have
been
18
excluded
ever
since
2001,
even
though
Agent
Orange
has
19
been
verified,
through
various
studies
and
reports,
as
20
a
wide
spreading
chemical
that
was
able
to
reach
Navy
21
ships
through
air
and
waterborne
distribution
routes
22
and
that
Navy
ships
positioned
off
the
Vietnamese
23
shore
routinely
distilled
seawater
to
obtain
potable
24
water;
and
25
WHEREAS,
a
December
2002
report
by
the
Australian
26
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
found
that
the
27
distillation
process,
rather
than
removing
toxins,
in
28
fact
concentrated
dioxin
in
water
used
for
drinking,
29
cooking,
and
washing;
and
30
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WHEREAS,
that
report
was
conducted
after
the
1
Australian
Department
of
Veterans
Affairs
found
that
2
Vietnam
veterans
of
the
Royal
Australian
Navy
had
a
3
higher
rate
of
mortality
from
Agent
Orange-associated
4
diseases
than
did
Vietnam
veterans
from
other
branches
5
of
the
Australian
military;
and
6
WHEREAS,
when
the
United
States
Centers
for
Disease
7
Control
and
Prevention
studied
specific
cancers
among
8
Vietnam
veterans,
they
found
a
higher
risk
of
certain
9
cancers
among
United
States
Navy
veterans;
and
10
WHEREAS,
herbicides
containing
11
tetrachlorodibenzodioxin
did
not
discriminate
12
between
soldiers
on
the
ground
and
sailors
on
ships
13
offshore;
and
14
WHEREAS,
more
than
30
veterans
service
organizations
15
support
federal
legislation
titled
the
Blue
Water
Navy
16
Vietnam
Veterans
Act
of
2013,
H.R.
543;
and
17
WHEREAS,
by
not
passing
H.R.
543,
a
precedent
18
could
be
set
to
selectively
provide
certain
groups
19
of
military
veterans
with
exposure-related
medical
20
care
while
denying
other
groups
such
care
without
any
21
consistent
financial
or
scientific
reasoning;
and
22
WHEREAS,
when
the
federal
Agent
Orange
Act
of
1991
23
was
passed
with
no
dissenting
votes,
congressional
24
leaders
stressed
the
importance
of
responding
to
25
the
health
concerns
of
Vietnam
veterans
and
ending
26
the
bitterness
and
anxiety
that
had
surrounded
the
27
issue
of
herbicide
exposure,
and
since
that
time
the
28
federal
government
has
also
demonstrated
its
awareness
29
of
the
hazards
of
Agent
Orange
exposure
through
its
30
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H.R.
115
involvement
in
the
identification,
containment,
and
1
mitigation
of
dioxin
“hot
spots”
in
Vietnam;
and
2
WHEREAS,
the
United
States
Congress
should
reaffirm
3
the
nation’s
commitment
to
the
well-being
of
all
of
its
4
veterans
and
direct
the
United
States
Department
of
5
Veterans
Affairs
to
administer
the
federal
Agent
Orange
6
Act
under
the
presumption
that
herbicide
exposure
7
in
the
Republic
of
Vietnam
included
the
country’s
8
inland
waterways,
offshore
waters,
and
airspace,
with
9
these
areas
encompassing
a
part
of
the
entire
combat
10
zone;
NOW
THEREFORE,
11
BE
IT
RESOLVED
BY
THE
HOUSE
OF
REPRESENTATIVES,
That
12
the
Iowa
House
of
Representatives
hereby
respectfully
13
urges
the
United
States
Congress
to
restore
the
14
presumption
of
a
service
connection
for
Agent
Orange
15
exposure
for
United
States
veterans
who
served
in
the
16
waters
defined
by
the
Vietnam
combat
zone,
and
in
the
17
airspace
over
the
Vietnam
combat
zone;
and
18
BE
IT
FURTHER
RESOLVED,
That
the
Chief
Clerk
of
19
the
House
of
Representatives
shall
transmit
certified
20
copies
of
this
resolution
to
the
President
of
the
21
United
States,
to
the
President
and
Secretary
of
the
22
United
States
Senate,
the
Speaker
and
Clerk
of
the
23
United
States
House
of
Representatives,
and
each
member
24
of
the
Iowa
congressional
delegation
with
the
request
25
that
this
resolution
be
officially
entered
into
the
26
Congressional
Record
as
a
memorial
to
the
United
States
27
Congress
of
the
urgency
of
responding
to
the
medical
28
care
needs
of
Vietnam
veterans.
29
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