Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2018, which was introduced by Representative Valadao of California.

H.R. 299, as amended, would finally extend the presumption of exposure to Agent Orange to blue water Navy veterans. I am grateful to Mr. Valadao for introducing this long overdue bill, but I also thank my colleagues on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs for working with us in a bipartisan manner to find an acceptable way to pay for this bill.

As many of you know, Agent Orange was used in Vietnam to defoliate areas in the jungle where enemy forces would come and ambush our troops. Unfortunately, many Vietnam veterans have developed diseases as a result of their exposure to Agent Orange.

Currently, VA only extends a presumption of exposure to Vietnam veterans who actually set foot in Vietnam or served in the inland waterways, or the brown water Navy, we call it. Blue water Navy veterans who served offshore of Vietnam were excluded from the presumption. VA denies these benefits because it claims there is not enough scientific information to determine whether blue water Navy veterans came into contact with herbicides in amounts meaningful to cause disease.

Mr. Speaker, I have read the science, and, unfortunately, we will never be able to prove whether blue water Navy veterans were harmed by herbicides. But I have said this before and I will say it again: When too many years have passed--over four decades, in this case--to meaningfully determine the science, the presumption should be heavily in favor of the veteran.

Moreover, I am pleased that the bill would help veterans who may have been harmed by exposure to herbicides while serving areas outside the Republic of Vietnam.

H.R. 299, as amended, incorporates a proposal authored by Representative Tom MacArthur, which would extend the presumption to veterans who served in or near the Korean Demilitarized Zone beginning on September 1, 1967, which is the month when the military began testing herbicides in that area. The end date of the presumption period would remain the same as it is now, which is August 31, 1971.

This legislation would also require VA to identify U.S. military bases located in Thailand where Agent Orange was used and when it was used.

Additionally, this bill includes a proposal authored by Representative Westerman of Arkansas, which would require VA to provide benefits for children who were born with spina bifida if one or both parents may have been exposed to Agent Orange while serving in Thailand, just as VA does for children with spina bifida if their parents served in Vietnam or the Korean DMZ while Agent Orange was used.

The manager's amendment makes some technical changes to ensure that all Vietnam naval veterans who served within 12 miles offshore of Vietnam during the war are eligible for the presumption. The manager's amendment also makes technical changes to clarify the intent of this bill, including ensuring surviving spouses are eligible for retroactive benefits and authorizes VA to start paying benefits before the final regulations are issued.

Additionally, H.R. 299, as amended, would include several improvements to the VA's home loan program, introduced by several Members, including changes to VA's home appraisal system, which was introduced by Representative Arrington; and expansion of the conforming loan limit, which would allow veterans to use their earned VA loan benefits in more expensive areas, if they qualify. This provision was introduced by Representative Zeldin.

Extension of the waiver of home loan funding fees to recipients of the Purple Heart who are still serving on Active Duty was introduced by Representative Herrera Beutler, and temporary increases to VA's home loan funding fees for nondisabled veterans, to offset the cost of this bill.

I want to thank all of our VSO partners for their support and for helping us craft a bill that finally addresses the plight of blue water Navy veterans. Specifically, I want to thank the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, the Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Fleet Reserve Association, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Blue Water Vietnam Veteran Association, Military Veterans Advocacy, and the Military Officers Association of America.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R.

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Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, the VA estimates that there are 6.6 million living Vietnam-era veterans; there are 58,220 who died in that war; and there only will be about 4.4 million remaining in just 10 short years. That means we will lose 2.2 million Vietnam-era veterans in the next 10 years, which is an average of about 523 Vietnam-era veterans per day.

We must now act because, if we don't, blue water Navy veterans may not be around to receive the benefits they and their loved ones have been waiting on for so long. We owe it to the brave men and women veterans who served offshore during the Vietnam era to cease waiting on perfect science and provide compensation benefits for conditions they may have developed because of exposure to Agent Orange.

I am not the only one who believes this. H.R. 299 has broad bipartisan support: 330 cosponsors. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that H.R. 299, as amended, does the right thing for our blue water Navy veterans.

Mr. Speaker, this is personal for our Vietnam-era veterans like myself. I served and walked the territory not long after in Korea, over 40 years ago.

We have done great work on the committee: We passed an accountability bill this year, a way to speed up disability claims. The Forever GI Bill funded the Veterans Choice Program. We just passed the VA MISSION Act, just a few of the things that our committee in a bipartisan way, has done.

But there is a little inconvenience out there that we have 90,000 blue water Navy veterans who are being left behind--not after today.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the other side of the aisle. We worked hand in hand.

And I thank the staffs--I don't think they get enough credit--for the hard work that the staffs do behind the scenes. When we seem to find a blind alley and can't get to a conclusion, they continue to work in a bipartisan way to find a way to get to yes.

I also thank all of the outside groups that kept this issue in front of us for decades.

When I got the chairmanship a year and a half ago, I said one of the things that I will base my chairmanship on is if we can get this solved and do the right thing for our blue water Navy veterans. Today, we are going to do the right thing in this House and send it to the Senate, where they will do the right thing.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all Members to support H.R. 299, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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