2-24-12

VA Expands List of Ships Exposed to Agent Orange

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently added 47 ships to its list of Navy and Coast Guard vessels that are presumptive for exposure to Agent Orange due to duty in the coastal waters and internal waterways of Vietnam. There are now 214 ships on the VA’s presumptive list. If a service member served aboard any of these ships during the described time period and they have any of the 14 diseases recognized as Agent Orange-related, they may have a creditable claim for disability compensation from VA.  For more information on the updated list, visit www.fra.org/agentorange

Support for the “Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act” (H.R. 3612, S. 1629) and the “Agent Orange Equity Act” (H.R. 812) is a high priority for FRA. These proposals clarify that veterans who served off the coast of Vietnam may presume exposure to herbicides in determining disability ratings and would allow “Blue Water” veterans to be compensated for their service-connected disabilities. Shipmates are urged to use the FRA Action Center  to ask their elected officials to support these bills. Or use the direct links below to ask for support of each of the specific Agent-Orange bills:

To seek support for H.R. 3612, click here.

To seek support for H.R 812, click here.

To seek support for S.1629, click here.