,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cjeb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #bh1 #bjbe,ms4 ,tlaib 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,simon1 ,mr4 ,nadler1 ,mr4 ,thanedar1 ,mr4 ,carson1 and ,ms4 ,mc,bride7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to provide assistance for individuals affected by exposure to ,agent ,orange1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,agent ,orange ,relief ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,findings and purpose 7a7 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,from #aifa to #aiga1 approximately #ai1jjj1jjj gallons of #ae different herbicides were sprayed over the southern region of ,vietnam by the ,united ,states military4 7#b7 ,the herbicides included #ac1jjj1jjj gallons of ,agent ,orange1 #d1ejj1jjj gallons of ,agent ,white1 #a1jjj1jjj gallons of ,agent ,blue1 #dbj1jjj gallons of ,agent ,purple1 and relatively smaller quantities of the other herbicides4 ,many of the herbicides1 including ,agents ,orange1 ,purple1 ,green1 ,pink1 ,dinoxol1 and ,trinoxol1 contained the toxic contaminant dioxin 7,,tcdd74 ,agent ,blue contained high levels of arsenic4 ,the #ae herbicides1 including the contaminant dioxin1 are usually collectively referred to as ,agent ,orange4 7#c7 ,between #aifa and #aiga1 nearly #bj1jjj spraying missions were carried out in an area of about #a1gjj1jjj hectares4 ,this represented about #aj percent of ,south ,vietnam and portions of ,laos and ,cambodia4 ,these amounts only account for the ,united ,states ,air ,force ,operation ,ranch ,hand spraying and do not include the widespread use of ,agent ,orange by the ,army ,chemical ,corps1 ,central ,intelligence ,agency1 and ,south ,vietnamese ,government4 7#d7 ,studies have found that between #b1ajj1jjj and #d1hjj1jjj ,vietnamese1 ,lao1 and ,cambodian people and tens of thousands of ,americans were exposed to ,agent ,orange during the spraying operations4 ,many other ,vietnamese people were or continue to be exposed to ,agent ,orange through contact with the environment and food that was contaminated4 ,many offspring of those who were exposed have birth defects1 developmental disabilities1 and other diseases4 7#e7 ,agent ,orange exposure continues to negatively affect the lives of veterans of the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces1 ,vietnamese people1 ,vietnamese ,americans1 and their children4 ,the lives of many victims are cut short1 and others live with disease1 disabilities1 and pain1 which are often untreated or unrecognized4 7#f7 ,the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs recognizes #ai illnesses and diseases in ,united ,states ,vietnam war veterans1 including ,,al amyloidosis1 bladder cancer1 chronic ,b- cell leukemia1 chloracne1 diabetes mellitus type #b1 high blood pressure 7hypertension71 ,hodgkin's disease1 hypothyroidism1 ischemic heart disease1 monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance 7,,mgus71 multiple myeloma1 non-,hodgkin's ,lymphoma1 ,parkinson's disease1 ,parkinsonism1 acute and sub-acute peripheral neuropathy1 porphyria cutanea tarda1 prostate cancer1 respiratory cancers1 and soft-tissue sarcomas associated with the spraying and use of ,agent ,orange by the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces during the ,vietnam era4 7#g7 ,no similar recognition has been given to affected ,vietnamese or ,vietnamese ,americans4 7#h7 ,the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs provides compensation for many severe birth defects among the children of ,united ,states women veterans who served in ,vietnam4 ,the list of birth defects covered includes1 but is not limited to1 achondroplasia1 cleft lip1 cleft palate1 congenital heart disease1 congenital talipes equinovarus 7clubfoot71 esophageal and intestinal atresia1 ,hallerman-,streiff syndrome1 hip dysplasia1 ,hirschsprung's disease 7congenital megacolon71 hydrocephalus due to aqueductal stenosis1 hypospadias1 imperforate anus1 neural tube defects1 ,poland syndrome1 pyloric stenosis1 syndactyly 7fused digits71 tracheoesophageal fistula1 undescended testes1 and ,williams syndrome4 ,affected children of these women veterans receive medical care and other benefits4 7#i7 ,however1 the care and compensation provided by the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs to the covered children of ,united ,states veterans is insufficient to meet their needs related to ,agent ,orange4 7#aj7 ,the only birth defect recognized for the children of male ,american veterans is spina bifida 7but not occulta74 ,however1 many children of male ,vietnam war veterans have the same range of birth defects and diseases as seen in the children of female ,vietnam war veterans4 ,this discrepancy results in most ,agent ,orange affected children of ,united ,states veterans receiving no care or benefits4 7#aa7 ,no assistance has been given to the children of male or female ,vietnamese or ,vietnamese ,americans connected with their exposure1 or their parents' or grandparents' exposure4 7#ab7 ,the ,institute of ,medicine for the past several years has noted that it is considerably more plausible than previously believed that exposure to the herbicides sprayed in ,vietnam might have caused paternally mediated transgenerational effects attributable to the ,,tccd contaminant in ,agent ,orange4 ,in recent years1 scientific studies have identified likely epigenetic links between exposure to toxins and birth defects and developmental disorders in subsequent generations4 ,some of the children and grandchildren of exposed persons 7,americans1 ,vietnamese1 and ,vietnamese ,americans7 who were in southern ,vietnam during the ,vietnam war era likely suffer from disorders1 birth defects1 and illnesses related to ,agent ,orange4 7#ac7 ,the assistance that the ,united ,states has provided for environmental remediation of contamination at the ,da ,nang and ,bien ,hoa airports has1 in recent years1 included funds for public health and disabilities activities for individuals residing in some affected areas4 7#ad7 ,laos and ,cambodia were also sprayed with ,agent ,orange during the ,vietnam war era4 ,at least #ebg1jjj gallons of ,agent ,orange were sprayed in ,laos and significant amounts were also sprayed in ,cambodia4 ,affected ,lao and ,cambodian people over several generations suffer from medical conditions1 birth defects1 and disabilities similar to those seen in ,vietnam and the ,united ,states4 ,the ,united ,states has the responsibility to take action to mitigate and provide compensation for those effects4 ,further action will be needed to ascertain and effectively address this legacy of the ,vietnam war4 7b7 ,purpose ,it is the purpose of this ,act to address and remediate the ongoing damage that arose or will continue to arise from the use of ,agent ,orange during the ,vietnam war4 #c4 ,provision of benefits for children of male veterans who served in ,vietnam who are affected by certain birth defects 7a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,,ii of chapter #ah of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking woman ,vietnam veteran each place it appears and inserting ,vietnam veteran2 7#b7 by striking women ,vietnam veterans each place it appears and inserting ,vietnam veterans2 and 7#c7 in the heading of such subchapter1 by striking ,woman4 7b7 ,access to records for research purposes ,section #ahac of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subsection 7c7 as subsection 7d72 and 7#b7 by inserting after subsection 7b7 the following3 7c7 ,access to records for research purposes 7#a7 ,the ,secretary shall require any health care provider with whom the ,secretary enters into a contract under this subsection to provide access to the medical records of individuals who receive health care under this section to the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs for the purpose of conducting research or providing support for research into the intergenerational effects of ,agent ,orange exposure4 7#b7 ,in this subsection1 the term ,agent ,orange includes any chemical compound which became part1 either by design or through impurities1 of an herbicide agent used in support of the ,united ,states and allied military operations in the ,republic of ,vietnam4 4 7c7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by striking the item relating to subchapter ,,ii and inserting the following new item3 ,,subchapter ,,ii--,,children ,,of ,,vietnam ,,veterans ,,born ,,with ,,certain ,,birth ,,defects 4 7d7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date that is #cj days after the date of enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,public research 7a7 ,support for research ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 in coordination with the heads of other appropriate ,federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations1 shall identify and provide assistance to support research relating to health issues of individuals affected by ,agent ,orange4 ,such research should include recommended focus provided by the ,united ,states ,institute of ,medicine as identified in their biennial ,veterans and ,agent ,orange ,update and supported by the active involvement of schools of public health and medicine located in the ,united ,states1 ,vietnam1 and other interested countries4 7b7 ,survey ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall conduct a survey of children of veterans who were exposed to ,agent ,orange and have received health care under subchapter ,,ii of chapter #ah of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 ,the survey shall be designed to determine the extent to which such children are receiving adequate treatment for their medical conditions and disabilities4 ,the ,secretary shall make recommendations based on the survey as to any actions necessary to remedy any deficiencies identified pursuant to the survey4 #e4 ,department of ,health and ,human ,services health assessment and assistance for ,vietnamese ,americans 7a7 ,health assessment ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall make grants to appropriate public health organizations and ,vietnamese ,american organizations for the purpose of conducting a broad health assessment of ,vietnamese ,americans who may have been exposed to ,agent ,orange and their children or descendants to determine the effects to their health of such exposure4 7b7 ,assistance ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall establish centers in locations in the ,united ,states where large populations of ,vietnamese ,americans reside for the purpose of providing assessment1 counseling1 and treatment for conditions related to exposure to ,agent ,orange4 ,the ,secretary may carry out this subsection through appropriate community and nongovernmental organizations or other suitable organizations1 as determined by the ,secretary4 #f4 ,deadline for implementation ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall each complete a plan for the implementation of the provisions of this ,act1 and the amendments made by this ,act1 that are applicable to such ,secretary and shall issue a request for proposals1 if applicable4 ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall each implement the applicable provisions of this ,act by not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act4 #g4 ,quarterly reports ,not later than #cj days after the last day of each fiscal quarter beginning on or after #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services and the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall each submit to ,congress a report on the implementation of the provisions of this ,act applicable to such ,secretary during the immediately preceding fiscal quarter4 #h4 ,definition ,for purposes of this ,act1 the term ,agent ,orange includes any chemical compound which became part1 either by design or through impurities1 of an herbicide agent used in support of the ,united ,states and allied military operations in the ,republic of ,vietnam4