Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend from Florida for his work on the VA extenders bill. I appreciate his partnership as we continue to fight for our veterans.

However, Mr. Speaker, I remain deeply disappointed that this extenders bill does not include an extension of the Agent Orange Act.

As you know, Congress passed the Agent Orange Act in 1991 to ensure care and compensation to Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Before this bill, it was up to our veterans to prove their cancer or Parkinson's was connected to their service in Vietnam and their exposure to Agent Orange.

The Agent Orange Act changed all of that, shifting the burden of proof from the veteran to the VA. Under the Agent Orange Act, the IOM would study Agent Orange and determine which diseases were associated with exposure to Agent Orange. This process removed the burden of proof from our Vietnam veterans when they applied for disability compensation.

Over the years, the IOM has issued reports that have led to the presumption of service connection for diseases such as Parkinson's, B-cell leukemia and early onset peripheral neuropathy. Without these studies, thousands of Vietnam era veterans would have gone without the benefits they greatly deserve.

The Agent Orange Act is set to expire tomorrow, but IOM is still working on their last report.

And, despite the good the Agent Orange Act has done for our Vietnam veterans, Congress is going to let this bill expire tomorrow.

And it's all because it costs too much.

Mr. Speaker, it never costs too much to ensure justice for our veterans.

We should be ashamed that we are letting this bill expire and leaving it up to the VA to add new diseases to the presumption list.

The Agent Orange Act has worked for our veterans for over a decade, and it is irresponsible to let our oversight expire and simply leave it up to the VA's discretion.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot step away from our responsibilities and hand them over to an agency, simply because we do not like the price tag.

Instead, we should do the right thing and find an offset.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to demand Leadership go back and find an offset outside of the VA to ensure our veterans get the benefits they earned.

We have a responsibility to these veterans. They completed their mission in Vietnam, now we must complete ours.

By finding an offset and passing this extension, we will make certain that when the IOM's final report is published, the VA is obligated to review it and follow their recommendations.

We owe these heroes nothing less.

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