Bill seeks to help Vietnam veterans

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., introduced legislation last month aimed at helping veterans harmed by herbicides during the Vietnam War era.

The measure has 37 co-sponsors, including U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., and has been assigned to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., had previously introduced a bill in the Senate. It has seven co-sponsors.

According to a news release from Military-Veterans Advocacy, a Louisiana-based nonprofit group, the bill would “create a presumption of service connection between the occurrence of a covered disease and exposure to a herbicide agent while serving in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era at a military base in Thailand, without regard to where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty the veteran performed.”

The organization’s board chairman, retired Navy Cmdr. John B. Wells, is urging lawmakers to take action.

“This is critical legislation to cover tens of thousands of sick veterans who were exposed to deadly herbicide while serving in Thailand,” he said. “I call on Sen. Jon Tester, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, to bring this matter forward for a legislative hearing.”

While pushing for action on Capitol Hill, Military-Veterans Advocacy is also battling on the legal front.

The organization has “federal litigation pending to force additional coverage for those who served in Thailand,” the news release stated.

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