Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 326 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 JANUARY 8, 2019 Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. SOTO, and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Foreign Affairs, for a pe- riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee 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 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H326.IH H326 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 326 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. The 6 agents included 13,000,000 gallons of Agent Or- 7 ange, 4,500,000 gallons of Agent White, 1,000,000 8 gallons of Agent Blue, 420,000 gallons of Agent 9 Purple, and relatively smaller quantities of the other 10 herbicides. Many of the herbicides, including Agents 11 Orange, Purple, Green, Pink, Dinoxol, and Trinoxol 12 contained the toxic contaminant dioxin (TCDD). 13 Agent Blue contained high levels of arsenic. The 14 aforementioned 15 herbicides, including the contami- 15 nant dioxin, are usually collectively referred to as 16 Agent Orange. 17 (2) 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 10 percent of South Vietnam. 21 (3) Studies show that between 2,100,000 and 22 4,800,000 Vietnamese and tens of thousands of 23 Americans were exposed to Agent Orange during the 24 spraying. Many other Vietnamese were or continue 25 to be exposed to Agent Orange through contact with 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H326.IH H326 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 326 IH the environment and food that was contaminated or 1 as offspring of those exposed who now suffer from 2 illnesses and disabilities. 3 (4) Today, there are still dozens of environ- 4 mental hot spots that continue to contaminate the 5 food, soil, sediment, livestock, and wildlife with 6 Agent Orange. In fact, concentrations of TCDD as 7 high as 1,000 mg/kg were found in soil and sedi- 8 ment samples more than 30 years after Agent Or- 9 ange was sprayed in Vietnam. 10 (5) Agent Orange exposure continues to nega- 11 tively affect the lives of veterans of the United 12 States Armed Forces, Vietnamese people, Viet- 13 namese-Americans, and their children. The lives of 14 many victims are cut short and others live with dis- 15 ease, disabilities, and pain, often untreated or unrec- 16 ognized. 17 (6) The Department of Veterans Affairs recog- 18 nizes certain illnesses and diseases, including AL 19 amyloidosis, chronic B-cell leukemia, chloracne, dia- 20 betes mellitus type 2, Hodgkin’s disease, ischemic 21 heart disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s 22 lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, acute and sub-acute 23 peripheral neuropathy, porphyria cutanea tarda, 24 prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, and soft-tissue 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H326.IH H326 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 326 IH sarcomas as associated with the spraying and use of 1 Agent Orange by the United States Armed Forces 2 during the Vietnam era. 3 (7) No similar consideration has been given to 4 affected Vietnamese or Vietnamese-Americans. 5 (8) The Department of Veterans Affairs pro- 6 vides compensation for many severe birth defects 7 among the children of American women veterans 8 who served in Vietnam. The list of birth defects cov- 9 ered includes but is not limited to: Achondroplasia, 10 cleft lip, cleft palate, congenital heart disease, con- 11 genital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot), esophageal 12 and intestinal atresia, Hallerman-Streiff syndrome, 13 hip dysplasia, Hirschsprung’s disease (congenital 14 megacolon), hydrocephalus due to aqueductal ste- 15 nosis, hypospadias, imperforate anus, neural tube 16 defects, Poland syndrome, pyloric stenosis, 17 syndactyly (fused digits), tracheoesophageal fistula, 18 undescended testes, and Williams syndrome. Af- 19 fected children of these women veterans receive med- 20 ical care and other benefits. 21 (9) The only birth defect recognized for the 22 children of male American veterans is spina bifida 23 (but not occulta), resulting in most affected children 24 receiving no benefits. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H326.IH H326 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 326 IH (10) No assistance has been given to the chil- 1 dren of male or female Vietnamese or Vietnamese- 2 Americans connected with their exposure, or their 3 parent’s or grandparent’s exposure. 4 (11) The Institute of Medicine for the past sev- 5 eral years has noted that ‘‘it is considerably more 6 plausible than previously believed that exposure to 7 the herbicides sprayed in Vietnam might have 8 caused paternally mediated transgenerational effects 9 . . . attributable to the TCCD contaminant in 10 Agent Orange.’’. In recent years, scientific studies 11 have identified likely epigenetic links between expo- 12 sure to toxins and birth defects and developmental 13 disorders in subsequent generations. Some of the 14 children and grandchildren of exposed persons 15 (Americans, Vietnamese, and Vietnamese-Ameri- 16 cans) who were in southern Vietnam during the 17 Vietnam era likely suffer from disorders, birth de- 18 fects, and illnesses related to Agent Orange. 19 (12) Dating back to 2007, the United States 20 has engaged in environmental remediation of con- 21 tamination at the Da Nang and Bien Hoa airports, 22 and provided funds for public health and disabilities 23 activities for individuals residing in some affected 24 areas. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H326.IH H326 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 326 IH (13) April 30, 2019, is the 44th anniversary of 1 the end of the Vietnam War. 2 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to ad- 3 dress and remediate the ongoing problems and concerns 4 that arose or will arise from the use of Agent Orange dur- 5 ing the Vietnam era. 6 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY 7 HEALTH ISSUES RELATED TO EXPOSURE TO 8 AGENT ORANGE. 9 (a) FOR COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—The Secretary of 10 State shall provide assistance to address the health care 11 needs of covered individuals. Such assistance shall include 12 the provision of medical and chronic care services, nursing 13 services, vocational employment training, and medical 14 equipment. 15 (b) FOR CAREGIVERS.—The Secretary of State shall 16 provide assistance to institutions in Vietnam that provide 17 health care for covered individuals. Such assistance shall 18 include— 19 (1) medicines and medical equipment; 20 (2) custodial care, home care, respite care, and 21 daycare programs; 22 (3) training programs for caregivers; 23 (4) medical, physical rehabilitation, and coun- 24 seling services and equipment for illnesses and de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H326.IH H326 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 326 IH formities associated with exposure to Agent Orange; 1 and 2 (5) reconstructive surgical programs. 3 (c) FOR HOUSING AND POVERTY REDUCTION.—The 4 Secretary of State shall provide assistance to repair and 5 rebuild substandard homes in Vietnam for covered individ- 6 uals and the families of covered individuals. The Secretary 7 of State shall provide micro grants and loans to facilitate 8 subsistence payments and poverty reduction for covered 9 individuals and families of covered individuals. 10 (d) FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 12 provide assistance to remediate those geographic 13 areas of Vietnam that the Secretary determines con- 14 tain high levels of Agent Orange. 15 (2) PRIORITY.—In providing assistance under 16 this subsection, the Secretary of State shall give pri- 17 ority to heavily sprayed areas, particularly areas 18 that served as military bases where Agent Orange 19 was handled, and areas where heavy spraying and 20 air crashes resulted in harmful deposits of Agent Or- 21 ange. 22 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary 23 of State shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H326.IH H326 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 326 IH (1) provide assistance under this section (other 1 than assistance under subsection (d)) through ap- 2 propriate Vietnamese community and nongovern- 3 mental organizations and, where necessary, public 4 agencies; 5 (2) provide assistance under this section to af- 6 fected persons in all areas of Vietnam, including 7 rural, mountainous, and urban areas; 8 (3) encourage strategic alliances between pri- 9 vate and public sector partners as a business model 10 for achieving the goals of this section; and 11 (4) seek out and actively encourage other bilat- 12 eral donors as well as United States and foreign 13 business enterprises in Vietnam to support the goals 14 of this section through development assistance and 15 corporate philanthropy programs. 16 (f) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this sec- 17 tion, the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means an individual 18 who— 19 (1) is a resident of Vietnam; and 20 (2)(A) is affected by health issues related to ex- 21 posure to Agent Orange which took place during the 22 period beginning on January 1, 1961, and ending on 23 May 7, 1975, or who lives or has lived in or near 24 those geographic areas in Vietnam that continue to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H326.IH H326 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 326 IH contain high levels of Agent Orange as described in 1 subsection (d); or 2 (B) is the child or descendant of an individual 3 described in subparagraph (A), and is affected by 4 health issues described in subparagraph (A). 5 SEC. 4. PUBLIC RESEARCH. 6 The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Veterans 7 Affairs shall identify and provide assistance to support re- 8 search relating to health issues of individuals affected by 9 Agent Orange. Such research should include recommended 10 focus provided by the United States Institute of Medicine 11 as identified in their biennial Veterans and Agent Orange 12 Update, and supported by the active involvement of 13 schools of public health and medicine located in the United 14 States, Vietnam, and other interested countries. 15 SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 16 HEALTH ASSESSMENT AND ASSISTANCE FOR 17 VIETNAMESE-AMERICANS. 18 (a) HEALTH ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary of Health 19 and Human Services shall make grants to appropriate 20 public health organizations and Vietnamese-American or- 21 ganizations for the purpose of conducting a broad health 22 assessment of Vietnamese-Americans who may have been 23 exposed to Agent Orange and their children or descend- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H326.IH H326 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 326 IH ants to determine the effects to their health of such expo- 1 sure. 2 (b) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of Health and 3 Human Services shall establish centers in locations in the 4 United States where large populations of Vietnamese- 5 Americans reside for the purpose of providing assessment, 6 counseling, and treatment for conditions related to expo- 7 sure to Agent Orange. The Secretary may carry out this 8 subsection through appropriate community and non- 9 governmental organizations or other suitable organiza- 10 tions, as determined by the Secretary. 11 SEC. 6. PROVISION OF BENEFITS FOR CHILDREN OF MALE 12 VETERANS WHO SERVED IN VIETNAM WHO 13 ARE AFFECTED BY CERTAIN BIRTH DEFECTS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 18 of 15 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 16 (1) by striking ‘‘woman Vietnam veteran’’ each 17 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Vietnam veteran’’; 18 (2) by striking ‘‘women Vietnam veterans’’ each 19 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Vietnam veterans’’; 20 and 21 (3) in the heading of such subchapter, by strik- 22 ing ‘‘WOMEN’’. 23 (b) ACCESS TO RECORDS FOR RESEARCH PUR- 24 POSES.—Section 1813(b) of such title is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Jan 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H326.IH H326 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 326 IH (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 1 ‘‘(1) The Secretary’’; and 2 (2) by adding at the end the following new 3 paragraph: 4 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall require any health care pro- 5 vider with whom the Secretary enters into a contract 6 under this subsection to provide access to the medical 7 records of individuals who receive health care under this 8 section to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the pur- 9 pose of conducting research or providing support for re- 10 search into the intergenerational effects of Agent Orange 11 exposure.’’. 12 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 13 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by striking 14 the item relating to subchapter II and inserting the fol- 15 lowing new item: 16 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II. CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS BORN WITH CERTAIN BIRTH DEFECTS’’. (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 17 this section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days 18 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 19 SEC. 7. DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION. 20 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 21 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, the Secretary 22 of Health and H [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]