The Agent Orange Reconciliation Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in effort to heal the post-conflict, human cost of war by caring for the children of our Vietnam veterans living with Spina Bifida resulting from Agent Orange exposure.

Spina Bifida, which literally means ``split spine,'' is a condition in which a baby's spinal column fails to close properly during pregnancy. Typically, an adult with Spina Bifida may suffer from nerve damage, paralysis, and difficulty completing ordinary, day-to-day tasks, and generally, surgery must be performed within 24 hours of the child's birth to minimize the risk of further damage due to infection, and to preserve any remaining function in the spinal cord. In many cases, those suffering from Spina Bifida require costly surgeries and extensive medical care because of potential paralysis resulting from damage to the spinal cord. Thankfully, due to medical advances, most children born with Spina Bifida live well into their adulthood.

The Department of Veterans Affairs presumes a link between Vietnam- era veterans exposed to herbicides such as Agent Orange, and the incidences of Spina Bifida in their biological children.

The Agent Orange Benefits Act (Public Law 104-204), which became law in 1996, established a benefits package for the children of Vietnam veterans as a result of exposure of one or both biological parents to herbicide during active duty in the Vietnam war. These benefits include lifetime health care services for Spina Bifida and any disability associated with Spina Bifida, a monthly monetary allowance, and VA vocational training and rehabilitation service. The Act authorized the VA to provide such benefits effective October 1, 1997, but not earlier than the date of the VA's receipt of an individual's claim for benefits. Regrettably however, this legislation did not tackle the already incurred medical costs directly correlated to Spina Bifida.

According to the VA, there are approximately 1,200 affected children of Vietnam-era veterans receiving compensation since enactment of the Agent Orange Benefits Act. While these children became eligible for benefits in 1997, these veterans and their families have been left with the cost of years of medical care necessary to treat a child's condition since birth that was directly attributable to the veteran's wartime service.

The Agent Orange Reconciliation Act of 2016 would make the benefits for children of Vietnam-era veterans born with and currently suffering from Spina Bifida effective beginning at birth. As a result, this bill would provide a one-time retroactive monetary payment to the families enduring this condition to compensate for treatment of the symptoms of Spina Bifida from birth until enactment of the Agent Orange Benefits Act.

Let us provide the benefits for which we are responsible with this important legislation. Our provision of benefits to the children of Vietnam veterans living suffering from Spina Bifida from their birth not only honors the service of these veterans but also recognizes the harmful and continued effects of Agent Orange Exposure in later generations.

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