[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 112 (Monday, July 25, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               VICTIMS OF AGENT ORANGE RELIEF ACT OF 2011

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                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 25, 2011

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, from 1961 to 1971, approximately 19 million 
gallons of fifteen different herbicides, including 13 million gallons 
of Agent Orange, were sprayed over the southern region of Vietnam. 
Many, including Agent Orange were based with the toxic contaminant, 
known as dioxin.
  It is estimated that between 2.1 million and 4.8 million Vietnamese 
people were present during the spraying of Agent Orange and other 
herbicides and many more were or continue to be exposed through contact 
with the environment and food that was contaminated, or as offspring of 
those exposed who now suffer from illnesses and deformities.
  Today there are still dozens of environmental hot spots in Vietnam 
which contaminate the food, soil, sediment and wildlife and continue to 
expose Vietnamese to dioxin.
  Agent Orange exposure continues to negatively affect the lives of men 
and women in Vietnam and in the United States. Many victims' lives are 
cut short and others live with disease, disabilities and pain, often 
untreated or unrecognized.
  Therefore, Congress resolves to address and remediate the ongoing 
problems and concerns that arose or will arise from the use of these 
deadly Agents during the Vietnam War in both the United States and in 
Vietnam.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2634.

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