[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 6077-6078]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


              THE AGENT ORANGE RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2016

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 16, 2016

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in effort to heal the 
post-conflict, human cost of war by caring for the children of our 
Vietnam veterans living with Spina Bifida resulting from Agent Orange 
exposure.

[[Page 6078]]

  Spina Bifida, which literally means ``split spine,'' is a condition 
in which a baby's spinal column fails to close properly during 
pregnancy. Typically, an adult with Spina Bifida may suffer from nerve 
damage, paralysis, and difficulty completing ordinary, day-to-day 
tasks, and generally, surgery must be performed within 24 hours of the 
child's birth to minimize the risk of further damage due to infection, 
and to preserve any remaining function in the spinal cord. In many 
cases, those suffering from Spina Bifida require costly surgeries and 
extensive medical care because of potential paralysis resulting from 
damage to the spinal cord. Thankfully, due to medical advances, most 
children born with Spina Bifida live well into their adulthood.
  The Department of Veterans Affairs presumes a link between Vietnam-
era veterans exposed to herbicides such as Agent Orange, and the 
incidences of Spina Bifida in their biological children.
  The Agent Orange Benefits Act (Public Law 104-204), which became law 
in 1996, established a benefits package for the children of Vietnam 
veterans as a result of exposure of one or both biological parents to 
herbicide during active duty in the Vietnam war. These benefits include 
lifetime health care services for Spina Bifida and any disability 
associated with Spina Bifida, a monthly monetary allowance, and VA 
vocational training and rehabilitation service. The Act authorized the 
VA to provide such benefits effective October 1, 1997, but not earlier 
than the date of the VA's receipt of an individual's claim for 
benefits. Regrettably however, this legislation did not tackle the 
already incurred medical costs directly correlated to Spina Bifida.
  According to the VA, there are approximately 1,200 affected children 
of Vietnam-era veterans receiving compensation since enactment of the 
Agent Orange Benefits Act. While these children became eligible for 
benefits in 1997, these veterans and their families have been left with 
the cost of years of medical care necessary to treat a child's 
condition since birth that was directly attributable to the veteran's 
wartime service.
  The Agent Orange Reconciliation Act of 2016 would make the benefits 
for children of Vietnam-era veterans born with and currently suffering 
from Spina Bifida effective beginning at birth. As a result, this bill 
would provide a one-time retroactive monetary payment to the families 
enduring this condition to compensate for treatment of the symptoms of 
Spina Bifida from birth until enactment of the Agent Orange Benefits 
Act.
  Let us provide the benefits for which we are responsible with this 
important legislation. Our provision of benefits to the children of 
Vietnam veterans living suffering from Spina Bifida from their birth 
not only honors the service of these veterans but also recognizes the 
harmful and continued effects of Agent Orange Exposure in later 
generations.

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