[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 178 (Monday, December 16, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1889]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE TOWN OF SEYMOUR'S RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE BLUE WATER 
                       NAVY VIETNAM VETERANS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 16, 2013

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker. it is with my full support of the Blue 
Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act that I rise today at the request of 
First Selectman Kurt Miller, the Board of Selectmen, and the Town of 
Seymour to officially submit the following town resolution into the 
Congressional Record:

       Whereas, During the Vietnam War, the United States military 
     sprayed 22 million gallons of Agent Orange and other 
     herbicides over Vietnam to reduce forest cover and crops used 
     by the enemy; these herbicides contained dioxin, which has 
     since been identified as carcinogenic and has been linked 
     with a number of serious and disabling illnesses affecting 
     thousands of veterans; and
       Whereas, The United States Congress passed the Agent Orange 
     Act of 1991, to address the plight of veterans exposed to 
     herbicides while serving the Republic of Vietnam; the Act 
     amended Title 38 of the United States Code to presumptively 
     recognize as service-connected certain diseases among 
     military personnel who served in Vietnam between 1962 and 
     1975; this presumption has provided access to appropriate 
     disability compensation and medical care for Vietnam veterans 
     diagnosed with such illnesses as Type II diabetes, Hodgkin's 
     disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, prostate cancer, 
     Parkinson's, multiple myeloma, peripheral neuropathy, AL 
     Amyloidosis respiratory cancers, and soft tissue sarcomas and 
     others yet to be identified; and
       Whereas, Pursuant to a 2001 directive, the United States 
     Department of Veterans Affairs policy has denied the 
     presumption of a service connection for herbicide-related 
     illnesses to Vietnam veterans who cannot furnish written 
     documentation that they had ``boots on the ground'' in-
     country, making it virtually impossible for countless United 
     States Navy, Marine and Air Force veterans to pursue their 
     claims for benefits; moreover, personnel who served on ships 
     in the ``Blue Water Navy'' in Vietnamese territorial waters 
     were, in fact, exposed to dangerous airborne toxins, which 
     not only drifted offshore but washed into streams and rivers 
     draining into the South China Seas; and
       Whereas, The United States Navy has been excluded ever 
     since, Agent Orange has been verified, through various 
     studies and reports, as a wide spreading chemical that was 
     able to reach Navy Ships through the air and waterborne 
     distribution routes; and
       Whereas, Warships positioned off the Vietnamese shore 
     routinely distilled seawater to obtain potable water, a 2002 
     Australian study found that the distillation process, rather 
     than removing toxins, in fact concentrated dioxin in water 
     used for drinking, cooking, and washing; this study was 
     conducted by the Australian Department of Veterans Affairs 
     after it found that Vietnam veterans of the Royal Australian 
     Navy had a higher rate of mortality from Agent Orange-
     associated diseases than did Vietnam veterans from other 
     branches of the military; when the United States Centers for 
     Disease Control and Prevention studied specific cancers among 
     Vietnam veterans, it found a higher risk of cancer among 
     United States Navy veterans; and
       Whereas, Herbicides containing TCDD did not discriminate 
     between soldiers on the ground and sailors on ships offshore, 
     and
       Whereas, More than 30 Veterans Service Organizations 
     support the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2013; by 
     not passing H.R. 543, a precedent could be set to selectively 
     provide certain groups with injury-related medical care while 
     denying other groups without any financial, scientific or 
     consistent reasoning, and
       Whereas, When the Agent Orange Act passed in 1991 with no 
     dissenting votes, congressional leaders stressed the 
     importance of responding to the health concerns of Vietnam 
     veterans and ending the bitterness and anxiety that had 
     surrounded the issue of herbicide exposure, the federal 
     government has also demonstrated its awareness of the hazards 
     of Agent Orange exposure through its involvement in the 
     identification, containment, and mitigation of dioxin ``hot 
     spots'' in Vietnam; and
       Whereas, The United States Congress should reaffirm the 
     nation's commitment to the well-being of all of its veterans 
     and direct the United States Department of Veterans Affairs 
     to administer the Agent Orange Act under the presumption that 
     herbicide exposure in the Republic of Vietnam includes the 
     country's inland waterways, offshore waters, and airspace; 
     similarly, now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Town of Seymour hereby respectfully urge 
     the Congress of the United States to restore the presumption 
     of a service connection for Agent Orange exposure to United 
     States Veterans who served on the inland waterways, in the 
     territorial waters, and in the airspace over the combat zone.

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