NATION : Bush Signs Agent Orange Bill
President Bush today signed legislation into law that ensures disability payments to Vietnam War veterans suffering from exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange and used the event to salute allied forces in the Persian Gulf.
The Agent Orange measure, which the President said would “build the confidence of tomorrow’s veterans,” passed Congress last week after years of haggling over whether the chemical herbicide caused cancers among U.S. veterans.
The United States sprayed approximately 11 million gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam between 1965 and 1971 to destroy jungle areas used as bases and hide-outs by the enemy.
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