Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3518 To direct the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- ices, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide assistance for individuals affected by exposure to Agent Orange, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2021 Ms. LEE of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Veterans Af- fairs to provide assistance for individuals affected by exposure to Agent Orange, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Victims of Agent Or- 4 ange Relief Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3518 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 2 ings: 3 (1) From 1961 to 1971, approximately 4 19,000,000 gallons of 15 different herbicides were 5 sprayed over the southern region of Vietnam. 6 (2) The herbicides included 13,000,000 gallons 7 of Agent Orange, 4,500,000 gallons of Agent White, 8 1,000,000 gallons of Agent Blue, 420,000 gallons of 9 Agent Purple, and relatively smaller quantities of 10 the other herbicides. Many of the herbicides, includ- 11 ing Agents Orange, Purple, Green, Pink, Dinoxol, 12 and Trinoxol contained the toxic contaminant dioxin 13 (TCDD). Agent Blue contained high levels of ar- 14 senic. The aforementioned 15 herbicides, including 15 the contaminant dioxin, are usually collectively re- 16 ferred to as Agent Orange. 17 (3) Between 1968 and 1971, a total of 6,500 18 spraying missions were carried out in an area of 19 about 1,500,000 hectares, which represented about 20 12 percent of South Vietnam and portions of Laos 21 and Cambodia. 22 (4) Studies show that between 2,100,000 and 23 4,800,000 Vietnamese and tens of thousands of 24 Americans were exposed to Agent Orange during the 25 spraying. Many other Vietnamese were or continue 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3518 IH to be exposed to Agent Orange through contact with 1 the environment and food that was contaminated. 2 Many offspring of those who were exposed have 3 birth defects, developmental disabilities, and other 4 diseases. 5 (5) Today, there are still dozens of environ- 6 mental hot spots that continue to contaminate the 7 food, soil, sediment, livestock, and wildlife with 8 Agent Orange. Concentrations of TCDD as high as 9 1,000 mg/kg have been found in soil and sediment 10 samples more than 50 years after Agent Orange was 11 sprayed in Vietnam. 12 (6) The United States has provided some as- 13 sistance to Vietnam in remediating Agent Orange 14 contamination at the largest of these hotspots, which 15 are the airbases that handled the spray missions. 16 The Da Nang Airport has been fully cleaned up, and 17 the United States has committed funds to contribute 18 to cleaning up the Bien Hoa Airbase, which is the 19 most contaminated site in Vietnam. There are at 20 least two dozen other smaller hotspots scattered 21 throughout southern and central Vietnam that also 22 must be remediated, since they continue to expose 23 local populations to dioxin and arsenic. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3518 IH (7) Agent Orange exposure continues to nega- 1 tively affect the lives of veterans of the United 2 States Armed Forces, Vietnamese people, Viet- 3 namese Americans, and their children. The lives of 4 many victims are cut short and others live with dis- 5 ease, disabilities, and pain, often untreated or unrec- 6 ognized. 7 (8) The Department of Veterans Affairs recog- 8 nizes 15 illnesses and diseases, including AL amyloi- 9 dosis, chronic B-cell leukemia, chloracne, diabetes 10 mellitus type 2, Hodgkin’s disease, ischemic heart 11 disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s 12 lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, acute and sub-acute 13 peripheral neuropathy, porphyria cutanea tarda, 14 prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, and soft-tissue 15 sarcomas as associated with the spraying and use of 16 Agent Orange by the United States Armed Forces 17 during the Vietnam era. 18 (9) No similar consideration has been given to 19 affected Vietnamese or Vietnamese Americans. 20 (10) The Department of Veterans Affairs pro- 21 vides compensation for many severe birth defects 22 among the children of American women veterans 23 who served in Vietnam. The list of birth defects cov- 24 ered includes but is not limited to: Achondroplasia, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3518 IH cleft lip, cleft palate, congenital heart disease, con- 1 genital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot), esophageal 2 and intestinal atresia, Hallerman-Streiff syndrome, 3 hip dysplasia, Hirschsprung’s disease (congenital 4 megacolon), hydrocephalus due to aqueductal ste- 5 nosis, hypospadias, imperforate anus, neural tube 6 defects, Poland syndrome, pyloric stenosis, 7 syndactyly (fused digits), tracheoesophageal fistula, 8 undescended testes, and Williams syndrome. Af- 9 fected children of these women veterans receive med- 10 ical care and other benefits. However, the care and 11 compensation provided by the Department of Vet- 12 erans Affairs to the covered children of United 13 States veterans is insufficient to meet their needs. 14 (11) The only birth defect recognized for the 15 children of male American veterans is spina bifida 16 (but not occulta). However, many children of male 17 Vietnam War veterans have the same range of birth 18 defects and diseases, resulting in most affected chil- 19 dren of United States veterans receiving no care or 20 benefits. 21 (12) No assistance has been given to the chil- 22 dren of male or female Vietnamese or Vietnamese 23 Americans connected with their exposure, or their 24 parents’ or grandparents’ exposure. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3518 IH (13) The Institute of Medicine for the past sev- 1 eral years has noted that ‘‘it is considerably more 2 plausible than previously believed that exposure to 3 the herbicides sprayed in Vietnam might have 4 caused paternally mediated transgenerational effects 5 . . . attributable to the TCCD contaminant in 6 Agent Orange.’’. In recent years, scientific studies 7 have identified likely epigenetic links between expo- 8 sure to toxins and birth defects and developmental 9 disorders in subsequent generations. Some of the 10 children and grandchildren of exposed persons 11 (Americans, Vietnamese, and Vietnamese Ameri- 12 cans) who were in southern Vietnam during the 13 Vietnam era likely suffer from disorders, birth de- 14 fects, and illnesses related to Agent Orange. 15 (14) Since 2007, the United States has engaged 16 in environmental remediation of contamination at 17 the Da Nang airport, and more recently the Bien 18 Hoa airport, and has provided funds for public 19 health and disabilities activities for individuals resid- 20 ing in some affected areas. 21 (15) Laos and Cambodia were also sprayed 22 with Agent Orange during the Vietnam era. At least 23 527,000 gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed in 24 Laos and significant amounts were sprayed in Cam- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3518 IH bodia. Affected Lao and Cambodian people over sev- 1 eral generations suffer from medical conditions, 2 birth defects and disabilities similar to those seen in 3 Vietnam and in the United States. The United 4 States has the responsibility to take action to miti- 5 gate and provide compensations for those effects. 6 Further action will be needed to ascertain and effec- 7 tively address this legacy of the Vietnam War. 8 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to ad- 9 dress and remediate the ongoing damage that arose or will 10 arise from the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam 11 era. 12 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY 13 HEALTH ISSUES RELATED TO EXPOSURE TO 14 AGENT ORANGE. 15 (a) FOR COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—The Secretary of 16 State shall provide assistance to address the health care 17 needs of covered individuals. Such assistance shall include 18 the provision of medical and chronic care services, nursing 19 services, vocational employment training, and medical 20 equipment. 21 (b) FOR CAREGIVERS.—The Secretary of State shall 22 provide assistance to institutions in Vietnam that provide 23 health care for covered individuals. Such assistance shall 24 include— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3518 IH (1) medicines and medical equipment; 1 (2) custodial care, home care, respite care, and 2 daycare programs; 3 (3) training programs for caregivers; 4 (4) medical, physical rehabilitation, and coun- 5 seling services and equipment for illnesses and de- 6 formities associated with exposure to Agent Orange; 7 and 8 (5) reconstructive surgical programs. 9 (c) FOR HOUSING AND POVERTY REDUCTION.—The 10 Secretary of State shall provide assistance to repair and 11 rebuild substandard homes in Vietnam for covered individ- 12 uals and the families of covered individuals. The Secretary 13 of State shall provide micro grants and loans to facilitate 14 subsistence payments and poverty reduction for covered 15 individuals and families of covered individuals. 16 (d) FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 18 provide assistance to remediate those geographic 19 areas of Vietnam that the Secretary determines con- 20 tain high levels of Agent Orange. 21 (2) PRIORITY.—In providing assistance under 22 this subsection, the Secretary of State shall give pri- 23 ority to heavily sprayed areas, particularly areas 24 that served as military bases where Agent Orange 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3518 IH was handled, and areas where heavy spraying and 1 air crashes resulted in harmful deposits of Agent Or- 2 ange. 3 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary 4 of State shall— 5 (1) provide assistance under this section (other 6 than assistance under subsection (d)) through ap- 7 propriate Vietnamese community and nongovern- 8 mental organizations and, where necessary, public 9 agencies; 10 (2) provide assistance under this section to af- 11 fected persons in all areas of Vietnam, including 12 rural, mountainous, and urban areas; 13 (3) encourage strategic alliances between pri- 14 vate and public sector partners as a business model 15 for achieving the goals of this section; and 16 (4) seek out and actively encourage other bilat- 17 eral donors as well as United States and foreign 18 business enterprises in Vietnam to support the goals 19 of this section through development assistance and 20 corporate philanthropy programs. 21 (f) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this sec- 22 tion, the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means an individual 23 who— 24 (1) is a resident of Vietnam; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3518 IH (2)(A) is affected by health issues related to ex- 1 posure to Agent Orange which took place during the 2 period beginning on January 1, 1961, and ending on 3 May 7, 1975, or who lives or has lived in or near 4 those geographic areas in Vietnam that continue to 5 contain high levels of Agent Orange as described in 6 subsection (d); or 7 (B) is the child or descendant of an individual 8 described in subparagraph (A), and is affected by 9 health issues described in subparagraph (A). 10 SEC. 4. PUBLIC RESEARCH. 11 (a) SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH.—The Secretary of 12 State and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall identify 13 and provide assistance to support research relating to 14 health issues of individuals affected by Agent Orange. 15 Such research should include recommended focus provided 16 by the United States Institute of Medicine as identified 17 in their biennial Veterans and Agent Orange Update, and 18 supported by the active involvement of schools of public 19 health and medicine located in the United States, Viet- 20 nam, and other interested countries. 21 (b) SURVEY.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 22 shall conduct a survey of children of veterans who were 23 exposed to Agent Orange and who have received health 24 care under subchapter II of chapter 18 of title 38, United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3518.IH H3518 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3518 IH States Code. The survey shall be designed to determine 1 the extent to which such children are receiving adequate 2 treatment for their medical conditions and disabilities. 3 The Secretary shall make recommendations based on the 4 survey as to any actions necessary to remedy any defi- 5 ciencies identified pursuant to the survey. 6 SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 7 HEALTH ASSESSMENT AND ASSISTANCE FOR 8 VIETNAMESE AMERICANS. 9 (a) HEALTH ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary of Health 10 and Human Services shall make grants to appropriate 11 public health organizations and Vietnamese-American or- 12 ganizations for the purpose of conducting a broad health 13 assessment of Vietnamese Americans who may have been 14 exposed to Agent Orange and their children or descend- 15 ants to determine the effects to their health of such expo- 16 sure. 17 (b) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of Health and 18 Human Services shall establish centers in locations in the 19 United States where large populations of Vietnamese 20 Americ [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]