H.R 299 Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act

[boardman]

House Veterans Affairs Committee passes VVA top legislative priorities H.R 299 Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act and language in H.R 5674 VA Mission Care Act extending caregiver benefits to pre-911 veterans
House Committee on Veterans Affairs
Chairman Phil Roe, M.D.
For Immediate Release
Washington, May 8, 2018 Tiffany Haverly 202-225-3527
Veterans Affairs’ Committee Passes VA MISSION Act, Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, 14 Other Bills
Washington, D.C. - Today, Chairman Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs passed 16 bills out of committee, including the VA MISSION Act and the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, and assigned Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) to the Subcommittees on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs and Oversight and Investigations:
“Today, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs doubled down on our promise to build a stronger VA for our nation’s heroes and ensure veterans are receiving the care and benefits they deserve by passing the VA MISSION Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation supported by leading veterans service organizations, VA and the White House. This is a transformational, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reform VA, and I am so proud of the strong support this bill received in today’s markup. President Trump has called on Congress to pass this bill before Memorial Day, and today’s vote gets us one step closer to the president’s desk. I’d also like to thank Senators Isakson and Tester for their hard work throughout this process and Ranking Member Walz for his constructive feedback.
“We owe it to the brave veterans who served in the Vietnam War to provide benefits for conditions they may have developed because of exposure to Agent Orange. I’m also proud of our work today to send the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act to the full House, and I’m grateful for Rep. Valadao’s continued leadership on this important legislation.
“Finally, I’d also like to welcome Rep. Conor Lamb to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Rep. Lamb serves in the Marine Corps Reserves, and I know America’s veterans will benefit from his service on this committee.”
The following bills were passed out of committee:
• H.R. 299: The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017
• H.R. 5674: The Department of Veterans Affairs Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks “MISSION” Act
• H.R. 1972: The VA Billing Accountability Act
• H.R. 2147: The Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act
• H.R. 3642: Military Sexual Assault Victims Empowerment (SAVE) Act
• H.R. 3832: The Veterans Opioid Abuse Prevention Act
• H.R. 4635: To direct the secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the number of peer-to-peer counselors providing counseling for women veterans
• H.R. 5520: The Veterans Affairs Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2018
• H.R. 4245: The Veterans’ Electronic Health Record Modernization Oversight Act of 2017
• HR 4334: The Improving Oversight of Women Veterans’ Care Act of 2017
• H.R. 4451: The Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Programs Reauthorization Act of 2017
• H.R. 4830: The Servicemembers Improved Transition through Reforms for Ensuring Progress (SIT-REP) Act
• H.R. 4958: The Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2018
• H.R. 5044: The Service-Disabled Veterans Small Business Continuation Act
• H.R. 5215: The Veterans Affairs Purchase Card Misuse Mitigation Act
• H.R. 5418: The Veterans Affairs Medical-Surgical Purchasing Stabilization Act
Source: https://veterans.house.gov/news/documen ... entID=2158

[boardman]

The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act legislative hearing will be held by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on August 1, 2018

Vietnam Veterans of America -- Update

July 28, 2018

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on August 1, 2018, will be holding a legislative hearing for the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017 and other bills. VVA fully supports this bill as passed in the House as H.R. 299, on June 25, by a vote of 382-0, please use the link below and contact your Senators today and ask that they please co-sponsor and support passage of S.422 as amended and passed in the House.

Take Action Now go to: http://www.capwiz.com/vva/home/

If you cannot access the link above copy and paste to your browser.

Please also follow-up with a call to your Senators office

Thank You for your support

[boardman]

Justice delayed is justice denied, Congress must pass H.R. 299 the Blue Water Navy Act

VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA

PRESS RELEASE

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 1, 2018
No. 17-18
Mokie Porter
301-996-0901


Justice and Science Demand Passage of the Blue Water Navy Act,
and Passage of the Dental Care Eligibility Act,
VVA Tells Senate Veterans Committee

(Washington, DC)—“The passage of The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act by the Senate will correct a long-standing wrong,” said John Rowan, VVA National President. In testimony today before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, VVA testified that “when signed into law, this bipartisan legislation will reverse the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 2002 decision, which prevented Blue Water Navy veterans and those veterans who served near the DMZ in Korea and in bases in Thailand from claiming presumptive status if they suffer with diseases associated with herbicide exposure.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. Congress must delay no further and acknowledge that it is as likely as not these veterans were exposed to herbicides and should be accorded presumptive service connection for their disability claims,” said Rowan. “The scientific evidence links Agent Orange and other herbicides to life-threatening health conditions such as ischemic heart disease, various cancers, Type II diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease,” said Rowan. “A study by the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) found the route to exposure of ships in the South China Sea to be biologically plausible. We believe such exposure has also led to birth defects, learning disabilities, and other health issues in the progeny of Vietnam veterans.”

Also pending before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee is the Veterans Dental Care Eligibility Expansion and Enhancement Act, which calls for the VA to carry out a pilot program “to assess the feasibility and advisability of furnishing dental services and treatment to enrolled veterans who currently are not eligible for such services and treatment.” This bill also calls for the VA to initiate a program to educate veterans on the importance of dental health, a program that illustrates the association between dental health and overall health and well-being. “If this pilot project proves successful, as we believe it will, the introduction of dental services for veterans who have a disability rating of less than 100 percent will have a positive effect on their overall health and wellness,” Rowan said.

Mokie Pratt Porter
Director of Communications

Vietnam Veterans of America
8719 Colesville Road, Suite 100
Silver Spring, Maryland 20912
301-585-4000 x146