[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   ADDING BRONCHIOLO-ALVEOLAR CARCINOMA TO LIST OF SERVICE-CONNECTED 
                                DISEASES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. LANE EVANS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 14, 188

  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in strong support of H.R. 559 
which will provide a presumption of service-connection for atomic 
veterans who suffer from an extremely rare form of nonsmokers' lung 
cancer. Benefits will be available to the surviving dependents of these 
veterans who have died of this disease.
  I commend the author of this bill, Mr. Smith, for his tireless 
efforts on behalf of these veterans and their dependents. I also thank 
the Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Stump, for bringing this bill to the 
floor.
  In addition to strongly supporting this measure, I also hope Congress 
will soon address presumption of service-connection for the illnesses 
listed in H.R. 4368, the Justice for Atomic Veterans Act of 1998, which 
I introduced on July 31, 1998. It is well known that the Department of 
Defense, as well as the VA, refused for many years to acknowledge the 
serious health risk resulting from exposure to nuclear testing and 
other radiation risk activities.
  Many veterans have been unable to obtain even medical records 
relating to their exposure during military service. It is not the fault 
of these veterans that accurate records of their exposure were not kept 
and maintained. Records which were considered essential for veterans to 
prove claims of service-connection for disability benefits were kept 
classified, since information concerning the adverse effects of 
radiation might have jeopardized future use of nuclear energy.
  The time to redress these injustices has long since passed. H.R. 559 
will provide justice to a small group of veterans. Congress can and 
should do more to compensate those veterans who have sacrificed their 
health, and in some cases their lives, on behalf of our Nation. I urge 
all of my colleagues to support this measure.

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