Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019.

During the Vietnam War, the United States Military sprayed approximately 20 million gallons of Agent Orange, across the southern half of Vietnam to destroy jungle foliage that concealed enemy personnel and supply routes. The Agent Orange was carried into rivers by soil and plant run-off. The hydraulic plumes from where the rivers met the coast mixed hundreds of miles of coastal water with contaminated river water. To make matters worse, rivers and harbors were also sprayed, contaminating the ocean water even further.

Due to the constant churning of the seabed from U.S. Navy Vessels moving up and down the coast, the Agent Orange would rise to the surface where it would be picked up every time Navy ships converted the salt water into potable water. A University of Queensland study on the Australian distillation system, which is the identical system used in U.S. ships, determined that the conversion process enriched the toxic chemical ingredient Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin (TCDD) in Agent Orange to an even higher concentration in the filtered water. The contaminated water was then used by a ship's crew for cooking, cleaning, showering, laundry, and drinking, effectively giving our sailors a heavy exposure to Agent Orange during their deployment.

Medical research concluded that exposure to the dioxin found in Agent Orange causes numerous health issues including respiratory and blood cancers, prostate cancer, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. According to a report from the Institute of Medicine, individuals with exposure to Agent Orange at an increased risk of developing serious heart problems and Parkinson's disease.

Until 2002, presumptive coverage for accessing health care for these side effects was provided to our Blue Water Navy Veterans. However, the Department of Veterans Affairs, failed to recognize the territorial seas as a part of the sovereign territory of Vietnam. The VA unilaterally decided that it would only provide presumptive coverage to those Veterans who served on land or on inland waterways.

Veterans that were exposed to these toxic chemicals, while serving their country have been neglected for too long. Congress must act on this pressing issue by passing this important piece of legislation that is supported by 333 co-sponsors. H.R. 299 extends the presumption of exposure for service connection for diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange to U.S. Navy Veterans who served offshore during wartime missions and also lengthens eligibility for VA benefits to certain children with spina bifida who were born to Veterans who served in Thailand and were exposed to Agent Orange.

I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill. Those Veterans who sacrificed their lives on behalf of America's freedom truly deserve better.

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