WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner are urging the Senate to pass legislation to ensure Blue Water Navy Veterans can receive the disability and health care benefits they earned after their exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
The service members served aboard ships off the Vietnam coastline during the war and were exposed to the toxic chemical Agent Orange. However, until recently, the Blue Water veterans were not eligible for the same disability benefits as those who served inside Vietnam itself.
This bill would also extend these benefits to servicemembers who were exposed to herbicides while serving in the Korean Demilitarized Zone and to the children of servicemembers stationed in Thailand who were born with spina bifida.
“Every veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange while serving our country deserves the same access to care. This legislation will finally afford the tens of thousands of veterans exposed during offshore duty the same benefits and treatment as their counterparts on the ground,” the Senators said.
Click to view the full bill below:
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the legislation. Congresswoman Elaine Luria cosponsored the House bill.
In January of 2019, the Federal Circuit overturned VA’s interpretation of the Agent Orange Act of 1991 in the case of Procopio v. Wilkie, ruling that the “Republic of Vietnam” included Vietnam’s territorial seas. While the court’s ruling made some Blue Water Navy Vietnam veterans eligible for the presumption of service-connection for Agent Orange exposure, it did not define territorial seas.
The bill that passed the House fully defines Vietnam’s offshore waters - which encompass the territorial seas - and ensure that the Blue Water Navy Vietnam veterans who were potentially exposed to Agent Orange during their service are eligible for a presumption of service-connection by VA for such exposure.
This bill mirrors the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017, which passed the House during the 115th Congress by a vote of 382 – 0.