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Agent Orange/Dioxin and Other Toxic Exposures Committe

In the news

Research Paper

U.S. Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange: Understanding the Impact 40 Years Later. National Organization on Disability. With funding from the Ford Foundation. Special Initiative on Agent Orange/Dioxin. Released June 1, 2009

[ Read Press Release ]

Congress Must Act to Restore Earned Benefits to All Vietnam Veterans – Including “Blue Water” Vets!

Washington, D.C. – House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) announced the introduction of H.R. 2254, a bill to restore equity to all Vietnam veterans that were exposed to Agent Orange.

“We owe it to our veterans to fulfill the promises made to them as a result of their service,” said Chairman Filner (D-CA). “If, as a result of service, a veteran was exposed to Agent Orange and it has resulted in failing health, this country has a moral obligation to care for each veteran the way we promised we would. And as a country at war, we must prove that we will be there for all of our veterans, no matter when they serve. The courts have turned their backs on our veterans, but I believe this Congress will not allow our veterans to be cheated of their earned benefits.”

Annual Committee Report
Agent Orange/Dioxin
as printed in The VVA Veteran March/April 2009
By Buzz Sawyer

What follows was reported by ABC News. It should be of interest to all Vietnam veterans who have illnesses that they feel resulted from exposure to dioxin—Agent Orange—during their service during the Vietnam War:

“The Supreme Court has turned down American and Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange who wanted to pursue lawsuits against companies that made the toxic chemical defoliant used in the Vietnam War. The justices offer no comment on their action, rejecting appeals in three separate cases, in favor of Dow Chemical, Monsanto, and other companies that made Agent Orange and other herbicides used by the military in Vietnam.

[ Read the committee report ]

The VVA Self-Help Guide to Service-Connected Disability Compensation for Exposure to Agent Orange

AL Amyloidosis: a rare group of diseases that results from the abnormal deposition of a particular protein called amyloid in various tissues of the body has been added as a presumptive service connected illnesses recognized by the VA as connected to Agent Orange Herbicide Exposure.

The Agent Orange Review
Click here to review this newsletter produced by the Veterans Administration.

Download The Agent Orange Brochure Here [PDF]

Agent Orange Initiative Form

Why fill out the form? VVA's Veterans Agent Orange Initiative is a humanitarian, veteran-to-veteran effort to document Agent Orange exposure (particularly from hand and truck spraying of bases) and to define likely hot spots of dangerously high dioxin levels on former U.S. and ARVN bases in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

FROM THE VVA
CONSTITUTION

"The Agent Orange/Dioxin Committee shall accumulate and disseminate information regarding Agent Orange and Dioxin and actively pursue the recognition of presumptive disabilities from exposure to Agent Orange and Dioxin by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Agent Orange/Dioxin Committee shall provide assistance to State Councils, Chapters, and service programs in the handling of Agent Orange related problems. The Committee shall encourage and foster the sponsorship of legislation to help the victims of Agent Orange and Dioxin, and encourage scientific and medical research in the field of dioxin-related ailments."

Contact a VVA Benefits Service Officer