/PRNewswire/ -- United Spinal Association/VetsFirst and other veterans organizations scored a victory yesterday for Vietnam veterans suffering from diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit instructed the VA to issue within 30 days new rules for paying disability benefits to Vietnam veterans stricken with ischemic heart disease, Parkinson's disease, or B-cell leukemias.
The rules impact an estimated 200,000 Vietnam veterans who suffer from one of the three Agent Orange-related diseases or their survivors.
The unanimous three-judge panel said VA must publish final rules on the three diseases in the Federal Register within 30 days. The VA claimed it could not issue the rules by the June 23rd deadline set by an act of Congress, because it was waiting for another federal agency (the Office of Management and Budget) to review them.
For many veterans and survivors, the date that VA rules are published has an impact on the amount of financial benefits they will receive. If a Vietnam veteran or survivor files a claim before VA publishes the rules on the three diseases, they are eligible for benefits retroactive to the date the claim is filed.
By law, veterans who file after the rules are published, receive benefits retroactive to the effective date of the regulation. For every month that publication is delayed, these veterans and survivors lose a month of benefits.
The VA estimates that as many as 150,000 Vietnam veterans and survivors have yet to file their paperwork. The veterans organizations believe the publication of rules in 30 days will likely result in a flood of additional VA claims.
Paul J. Tobin, president and CEO of United Spinal Association said, "We urge all veterans and their survivors who have been affected by Agent Orange-related diseases to apply as soon as possible to take advantage of the retroactive benefits available to them. This court decision will improve the quality of life of many individuals who have been suffering for far too long, but it's vital that veterans file now before the rules are published."
"We filed this request because veterans who have given so much for our country, should not have their compensation claims delayed because two federal agencies can't get their act together and comply with the law," said Bart Stichman, co-executive director of NVLSP. "Today's court order is a victory for our Vietnam veterans, and sends a strong message to federal bureaucrats - that bureaucratic delays will not be tolerated."
The successful request for a judicial remedy was filed in July 2010 by a coalition of veterans service organizations: United Spinal Association/VetsFirst; the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP); the Paralyzed Veterans of America; and the Non-Commissioned Officers Association. The organizations received pro-bono legal help from Chadbourne & Parke LLP.
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Showing posts with label agent orange. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agent orange. Show all posts
03 August 2010
23 June 2010
VA, Congress Need to Grant New Agent Orange Claims Without Delay
/PRNewswire/ -- The American Legion is calling upon Congress and the Dept. of Veterans Affairs to move quickly in granting benefit claims for three diseases recently declared to have presumptive connections with exposure to Agent Orange defoliant.
For several months, The American Legion has been pressing VA to publish its final regulations for the three new presumptive diseases: ischemic heart disease, Parkinson's disease, and B-cell leukemia.
"Veterans can't collect their earned disability benefits until VA publishes final regulations on these diseases," said Barry Searle, director of the Legion's veterans affairs and rehabilitation division. "And that's a process that has been dragging through the bureaucratic mire since last October."
While veterans across the country are still waiting for those regulations to be published - so they can start to collect earned disability benefits - Congress is on the verge of creating another delay.
The House of Representatives may soon consider a Senate-approved amendment that would add a 60-day period of limited spending on the new benefits while Congress reviews the underlying scientific data that led VA to link the three diseases to herbicide exposure.
VA estimates it will spend more than $42 billion over the next decade on Agent Orange claims stemming from the new regulations.
"We can certainly understand why Congress wants to be fiscally responsible in this matter," Searle said. "But the scientific studies that support these new claims - that link these three diseases to Agent Orange exposure - are thorough in their research and unequivocal in their findings."
Searle said The American Legion wants Congress and VA to work together quickly in resolving any lingering doubts about the three new presumptive conditions.
"Thousands of veterans who suffer from these diseases have waited too long already. The findings are valid. The connections to Agent Orange exposure are real. Let VA and Congress hash it out together, but we urgently recommend that they do it without further delay," Searle said.
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For several months, The American Legion has been pressing VA to publish its final regulations for the three new presumptive diseases: ischemic heart disease, Parkinson's disease, and B-cell leukemia.
"Veterans can't collect their earned disability benefits until VA publishes final regulations on these diseases," said Barry Searle, director of the Legion's veterans affairs and rehabilitation division. "And that's a process that has been dragging through the bureaucratic mire since last October."
While veterans across the country are still waiting for those regulations to be published - so they can start to collect earned disability benefits - Congress is on the verge of creating another delay.
The House of Representatives may soon consider a Senate-approved amendment that would add a 60-day period of limited spending on the new benefits while Congress reviews the underlying scientific data that led VA to link the three diseases to herbicide exposure.
VA estimates it will spend more than $42 billion over the next decade on Agent Orange claims stemming from the new regulations.
"We can certainly understand why Congress wants to be fiscally responsible in this matter," Searle said. "But the scientific studies that support these new claims - that link these three diseases to Agent Orange exposure - are thorough in their research and unequivocal in their findings."
Searle said The American Legion wants Congress and VA to work together quickly in resolving any lingering doubts about the three new presumptive conditions.
"Thousands of veterans who suffer from these diseases have waited too long already. The findings are valid. The connections to Agent Orange exposure are real. Let VA and Congress hash it out together, but we urgently recommend that they do it without further delay," Searle said.
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20 May 2010
Senate Committee Hears American Legion Testimony on Bills Affecting Veterans
/PRNewswire/ -- The American Legion testified in Congress yesterday on several pieces of pending legislation that would affect veterans if signed into law.
Appearing before the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, Ian de Planque conveyed The American Legion's support for several bills being considered by the committee. De Planque is deputy director of the Legion's veterans affairs and rehabilitation division:
S. 1939: Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009
The American Legion strongly supports the extension of presumption of exposure to Agent Orange for veterans who served on naval vessels located in the territorial waters of Vietnam (known as the "blue water" Navy veterans).
De Planque cited a 2008 study by the Institute of Medicine, which builds a solid case for making blue water veterans eligible for benefits arising from Agent Orange-related disabilities. He said the report "provides scientific justification for this current legislation, which admirably seeks to correct the grave injustice faced by 'blue water' Navy veterans. The American Legion strongly supports this legislation."
S. 1940: To study the effects on children whose parents were exposed to Agent Orange
This bill directs VA to complete a study - and report its findings to Congress - on how servicemembers' exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam has affected their children (including possible links to multiple sclerosis and asthma).
Such a study, de Planque said, "can help establish the associations necessary to allow the VA to provide entitlement to all benefits due to the child or children of any veteran exposed to a Vietnam-era herbicide agent."
S. 3035: Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury Care Improvement Act of 2010
VA would establish a polytrauma rehabilitation center in the northwestern United States. The American Legion believes this center will help VA health-care outreach to many rural areas.
The American Legion is urging the committee to consider funding additional areas of TBI studies and emerging treatments in the private sector, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and the Mt. Sinai Hospital's Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire.
"The American Legion remains concerned that the private sector uses a 100-question screening test, while DoD and VA only use a four-part questionnaire," de Planque told the committee, chaired by Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii.
S. 3234: Veterans Employment Assistance Act of 2010
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced this legislation less than a week after The American Legion testified to a House subcommittee on the seriousness of unemployment in the veterans community.
Updating the Senate committee with current data, de Planque said that 14.7 percent of OIF/OEF veterans are jobless; the rate is 30.2 percent for veterans aged 18 to 24. "The total number of unemployed veterans of the two wars is about 250,000," he said. "This legislation would provide these veterans with the training and additional skills they need in order to acquire gainful employment in today's marketplace."
The bill has several provisions The American Legion has backed for some time: extend GI Bill benefits to vocational and apprenticeship programs, more training and counseling for small businesses, and creating pilot programs to help veterans market their military experience and training more effectively.
"No mission is more critical at this time in our history - given the nation's involvement in two wars and the uncertain economic situation - than enabling America's veterans to have a seamless transition from military service to the civilian workforce," de Planque said.
S. 3368: Allows certain individuals to sign VA claims on behalf of claimants
The VA's fiduciary program is addressed in this legislation, which would give legally designated representatives the authority to sign and file VA claims for veterans who are incapable or unable to do so themselves.
The American Legion supports this bill, but emphasizes the need for proper oversight to ensure that veterans' rights are protected.
"Dedicated oversight is necessary to ensure that the veterans affected, most of whom have little ability to protect themselves in such situations, are not subject to being taken advantage of by unscrupulous individuals or institutions," de Planque told the committee.
In previous congressional testimony, The American Legion recommended that VA should allocate more staff solely to administer its fiduciary program.
S. 3348: Allows misfiled disability claims appeals to be treated as motions for reconsideration
Many veterans, unfamiliar with the procedure for filing disability claims appeals, mistakenly file their appeals with VA instead of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC).
If veterans disagree with the decisions made on their disability claims by the Board of Veterans Appeals, they have 120 days after notification to appeal that decision to CAVC. This legislation would offer protection to veterans who file their cases in error.
"This legislation can serve as a safety net for veterans already confused by a complex system, such as the system for adjudication of veterans benefits," de Planque said.
The American Legion also wants to extend the appeals filing period from 120 days to one year.
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Appearing before the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, Ian de Planque conveyed The American Legion's support for several bills being considered by the committee. De Planque is deputy director of the Legion's veterans affairs and rehabilitation division:
S. 1939: Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009
The American Legion strongly supports the extension of presumption of exposure to Agent Orange for veterans who served on naval vessels located in the territorial waters of Vietnam (known as the "blue water" Navy veterans).
De Planque cited a 2008 study by the Institute of Medicine, which builds a solid case for making blue water veterans eligible for benefits arising from Agent Orange-related disabilities. He said the report "provides scientific justification for this current legislation, which admirably seeks to correct the grave injustice faced by 'blue water' Navy veterans. The American Legion strongly supports this legislation."
S. 1940: To study the effects on children whose parents were exposed to Agent Orange
This bill directs VA to complete a study - and report its findings to Congress - on how servicemembers' exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam has affected their children (including possible links to multiple sclerosis and asthma).
Such a study, de Planque said, "can help establish the associations necessary to allow the VA to provide entitlement to all benefits due to the child or children of any veteran exposed to a Vietnam-era herbicide agent."
S. 3035: Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury Care Improvement Act of 2010
VA would establish a polytrauma rehabilitation center in the northwestern United States. The American Legion believes this center will help VA health-care outreach to many rural areas.
The American Legion is urging the committee to consider funding additional areas of TBI studies and emerging treatments in the private sector, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and the Mt. Sinai Hospital's Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire.
"The American Legion remains concerned that the private sector uses a 100-question screening test, while DoD and VA only use a four-part questionnaire," de Planque told the committee, chaired by Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii.
S. 3234: Veterans Employment Assistance Act of 2010
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., introduced this legislation less than a week after The American Legion testified to a House subcommittee on the seriousness of unemployment in the veterans community.
Updating the Senate committee with current data, de Planque said that 14.7 percent of OIF/OEF veterans are jobless; the rate is 30.2 percent for veterans aged 18 to 24. "The total number of unemployed veterans of the two wars is about 250,000," he said. "This legislation would provide these veterans with the training and additional skills they need in order to acquire gainful employment in today's marketplace."
The bill has several provisions The American Legion has backed for some time: extend GI Bill benefits to vocational and apprenticeship programs, more training and counseling for small businesses, and creating pilot programs to help veterans market their military experience and training more effectively.
"No mission is more critical at this time in our history - given the nation's involvement in two wars and the uncertain economic situation - than enabling America's veterans to have a seamless transition from military service to the civilian workforce," de Planque said.
S. 3368: Allows certain individuals to sign VA claims on behalf of claimants
The VA's fiduciary program is addressed in this legislation, which would give legally designated representatives the authority to sign and file VA claims for veterans who are incapable or unable to do so themselves.
The American Legion supports this bill, but emphasizes the need for proper oversight to ensure that veterans' rights are protected.
"Dedicated oversight is necessary to ensure that the veterans affected, most of whom have little ability to protect themselves in such situations, are not subject to being taken advantage of by unscrupulous individuals or institutions," de Planque told the committee.
In previous congressional testimony, The American Legion recommended that VA should allocate more staff solely to administer its fiduciary program.
S. 3348: Allows misfiled disability claims appeals to be treated as motions for reconsideration
Many veterans, unfamiliar with the procedure for filing disability claims appeals, mistakenly file their appeals with VA instead of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC).
If veterans disagree with the decisions made on their disability claims by the Board of Veterans Appeals, they have 120 days after notification to appeal that decision to CAVC. This legislation would offer protection to veterans who file their cases in error.
"This legislation can serve as a safety net for veterans already confused by a complex system, such as the system for adjudication of veterans benefits," de Planque said.
The American Legion also wants to extend the appeals filing period from 120 days to one year.
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13 October 2009
VA Extends 'Agent Orange' Benefits to More Veterans
/PRNewswire/ -- Relying on an independent study by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki decided to establish a service-connection for Vietnam Veterans with three specific illnesses based on the latest evidence of an association with the herbicides referred to as Agent Orange.
The illnesses affected by the recent decision are B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson's disease; and ischemic heart disease.
Used in Vietnam to defoliate trees and remove concealment for the enemy, Agent Orange left a legacy of suffering and disability that continues to the present. Between January 1965 and April 1970, an estimated 2.6 million military personnel who served in Vietnam were potentially exposed to sprayed Agent Orange.
In practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a "presumed" illness don't have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This "presumption" simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.
The Secretary's decision brings to 15 the number of presumed illnesses recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
"We must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will," Shinseki added. "Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."
Other illnesses previously recognized under VA's "presumption" rule as being caused by exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War are:
-- Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
-- AL Amyloidosis
-- Chloracne
-- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
-- Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
-- Hodgkin's Disease
-- Multiple Myeloma
-- Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
-- Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
-- Prostate Cancer
-- Respiratory Cancers, and
-- Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's
sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)
Additional information about Agent Orange and VA's services and programs for Veterans exposed to the chemical are available at www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange.
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The illnesses affected by the recent decision are B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson's disease; and ischemic heart disease.
Used in Vietnam to defoliate trees and remove concealment for the enemy, Agent Orange left a legacy of suffering and disability that continues to the present. Between January 1965 and April 1970, an estimated 2.6 million military personnel who served in Vietnam were potentially exposed to sprayed Agent Orange.
In practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a "presumed" illness don't have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This "presumption" simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.
The Secretary's decision brings to 15 the number of presumed illnesses recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
"We must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will," Shinseki added. "Veterans who endure health problems deserve timely decisions based on solid evidence."
Other illnesses previously recognized under VA's "presumption" rule as being caused by exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War are:
-- Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
-- AL Amyloidosis
-- Chloracne
-- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
-- Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
-- Hodgkin's Disease
-- Multiple Myeloma
-- Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
-- Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
-- Prostate Cancer
-- Respiratory Cancers, and
-- Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's
sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)
Additional information about Agent Orange and VA's services and programs for Veterans exposed to the chemical are available at www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange.
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