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1 1 (November 20, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbbsx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: - .......... November 20, 2019 Expansion of Benefits to Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Legislaive History The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-23) is the most recent action taken by Congress to grant disability compensation benefits to veterans exposed to Agent Orange, a combination of tactical herbicides used by the U.S. military in Vietnam. Earlier legislation directed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide some veterans with VA benefits for specific disabilities without requiring proof of actual exposure to Agent Orange. In 1991, the Agent Orange Act (P.L. 102-4) established a presumption of service connection-that is, a presumption that a disability is related to a veteran's service, entitling that veteran to VA disability compensation-for diseases associated with herbicide exposure contracted by veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. VA interpreted served in the Republic of Vietnam to apply to veterans who set foot in Vietnam or served on its inland waterways. For veterans to be eligible for VA disability benefits under these provisions, they must have at least one of the illnesses or diseases listed in 38 C.F.R. §3.309(e). These include, but are not limited to, type II diabetes, chloracne, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, respiratory cancers, and certain types of soft- tissue sarcoma. A veteran without a presumptive condition who was exposed to Agent Orange may be eligible for benefits by providing sufficient medical evidence linking their condition to this exposure. On January 25, 2011, VA issued regulations expanding the scope of the presumption of herbicide exposure to veterans who served in or near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between September 1, 1967, and August 31, 1971. These regulations took effect on February 24, 2011. On January 29, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in Procopio v. Wilkie, invalidated VA's interpretation of Republic of Vietnam and held that the term's meaning included the country's 12 nautical miles of territorial sea. The court reasoned that, for the purpose of VA benefits, all veterans who served on U.S. vessels within the 12-nautical-mile region were eligible for the Agent Orange presumption. As Procopio unfolded, Congress also legislated an expansion of the Agent Orange presumption. On January 8, 2019, H.R. 299 was introduced to expand the presumption of herbicide exposure for veterans who served offshore the Republic of Vietnam on U.S. vessels. Following House and Senate passage, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-23) on June 25, 2019. The act requires VA to grant the presumption of exposure to herbicide agents to veterans who served on U.S. Navy or Coast Guard vessels off the coast of Vietnam. Overview ofA PL I', 16-23 P.L. 116-23 amends chapters 11, 17, 18, and 37 of Title 38 of the U.S. Code, expanding the Agent Orange presumption to veterans who served on U.S. Navy or Coast Guard vessels offshore the Republic of Vietnam; to certain veterans who served in or near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ); and to certain veterans who served in Thailand whose children were born with spina bifida. In addition, the law amends multiple provisions related to the VA Home Loan Program. All changes to the U.S. Code made by P.L. 116-23 will take effect on January 1, 2020. In a July 5, 2019, press release, VA estimated that as many as 560,000 Vietnam-era veterans may be recognized as Blue Water Navy (BWN) veterans. Provisions Expaning te Agent Orange Presumption' The provisions that expand the Agent Orange presumption appear in Sections 2, 3, and 4 of P.L. 116-23. Vitnam Blue Water Navy Veterans Section 2 of P.L. 116-23 extends the presumption of herbicide exposure to veterans who served on a U.S. Navy or Coast Guard vessel offshore the Republic of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. These vessels must have operated not more than 12 nautical miles seaward of a line commencing on the southwestern demarcation line of the waters of Vietnam and Cambodia. That line roughly connects Vietnam's islands located within their territorial waters. Figure 1 shows the entire region associated with Agent Orange exposure, including the newly added territorial waters and the corresponding 12- nautical-mile expansion seaward. Veterans near :he DMZ in Korea Section 3 of P.L. 116-23 codifies the 2011 regulatory presumption that veterans who served in the Korean DMZ between September 1, 1967, and August 31, 1971, were exposed to herbicides. Chifdren Certain Thailand Veterans Section 4 of P.L. 116-23 extends eligibility for health care, vocational training and rehabilitation, and monetary allowances for children born with spina bifida to certain veterans who served in Thailand between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, in the same manner as these benefits are available to children of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. The veteran must have served in an area of Thailand where the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, identified herbicides used during this time period. This section applies to children conceived after the date of the veteran's service N 1 10 LI

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