House Passes Agent Orange Claims Funding

Prodded by Iraq’s threat to use chemical weapons in the Persian Gulf War, the House ended more than a decade of deadlock Tuesday and passed legislation to guarantee compensation for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. The vote was 412 to 0.

One leading congressional advocate said that the Agent Orange measure would establish a process for deciding claims pressed by American military personnel exposed to possible chemical or biological substances used against U.S.-led forces by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

“Anybody looking at this issue has to conclude that we may be in the same situation with a whole new generation of veterans in a matter of months,” said Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.).

Shortly after the Gulf War began, opponents of government benefits in Agent Orange cases yielded to pressure from veterans’ advocates to expand protection for diseases attributed to the widely used jungle defoliant, which has been linked to some forms of cancer.

“As war rages in the Middle East, we are taking a big step in putting the Vietnam War behind us,” said Rep. Lane Evans (D-Ill.), spokesman for Vietnam-era veterans in Congress and a key sponsor of the Agent Orange legislation.

The Senate is expected to pass the bill today and send it to President Bush for his signature. The Administration backs the measure.

Under the legislation, Vietnam veterans who suffer from two forms of cancer--non-Hodgkins’ lymphoma and soft-tissue sarcoma--would be entitled to permanent disability benefits for themselves or their survivors. In addition, those who contracted chloracne, a skin ailment, within one year of their Vietnam service would be eligible for benefits.

In a provision that could significantly expand existing benefits, the bill directs the National Academy of Sciences to conduct comprehensive reviews of any evidence that Agent Orange or other toxic chemicals used in Vietnam caused cancer or other diseases in veterans.

If the academy recommends payment of disability benefits for a disease related to exposure to Agent Orange, the VA then would be required to act within 60 days to accept the finding or justify its refusal to pay compensation in such cases.

The bill also would authorize federal funding of as much as $4 million to test dioxin levels in the blood of veterans who served in Vietnam and who may have been exposed to Agent Orange. Money for this purpose would have to be approved in a separate appropriations bill, however.

The measure also would extend for three years the authority of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to provide medical care for veterans exposed to Agent Orange or ionizing radiation during their military service.

Last year, a proposed cost-of-living increase for disabled veterans was held hostage by supporters of Agent Orange compensation. Under a bipartisan compromise reached this year, the 5.4% increase in disability benefits and the Agent Orange legislation were cleared for swift passage in the House and Senate with no significant dissent.

“We should look at the legislation as a very positive sign that healing is afoot and it comes at just the right time to resolve any lingering concerns that Vietnam veterans may have as we move into another era of warfare,” said Joseph Zengerle, an attorney and Vietnam veteran who served as court-appointed chairman of an Agent Orange fund created by settlement of a lawsuit against manufacturers of the defoliant.

In another action, the House voted, 414 to 0, for a series of changes to the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act that would increase protections for military reservists called to active duty and others serving in the armed forces.

The measure would bar evictions of families of military personnel if the amount of rent owed is less than $1,200, instead of $150 provided under current law. It also would require automatic reinstatement of health insurance for those called to active duty and would delay civil suits against members of the armed forces until July 1.

In a special provision affecting doctors or dentists called into service, the bill would require insurance companies to suspend medical malpractice insurance while they remained on active duty so they would not be forced to make continuing premium payments. A related provision would require insurers to reinstate such coverage upon request and would prohibit rate increases at that time.