House of Representatives Begins Circulating Congressional Letter to VA About C-123 Veterans

Congresswoman Bonamici (D-OR) and her Republican colleague Congressman Paul Cook have begun circulating their bipartisan letter from the House of Representatives to VA Secretary Erik Shinseki, demanding justice for C-123 aircrew Agent Orange veterans. All veterans are urged to ask their congressional representatives to sign on and join this bipartisan effort! Congresswoman Bonamici has asked all veterans to urge their representatives to contact her office and join this important effort. The Senate, under leadership of Senator Richard Burr and Senator Jeff Merkley, has a similar effort underway.

Call Congress today – urge support for Congresswoman Bonamici and Congressman Cook's letter, shown below:

Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange Deserve VA Benefits

From: The Honorable Suzanne Bonamici
Sent By: carly.katz
Date: 9/25/2013

Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange Deserve VA Benefits

Dear Colleague:

Please join us in a letter to the Veterans Administration (VA) to reexamine its benefits policy for veterans exposed to Agent Orange after the Vietnam War.  Veterans who served on Agent Orange spray aircraft after the Vietnam War are facing serious health issues today due to their exposure to military herbicide residue.  These veterans served our country without knowledge of the risk to their health and they deserve to be treated fairly by the VA.  Despite evidence and support from the country’s top experts on Agent Orange, the VA refuses to provide these veterans with disability benefits. 

From 1972 to 1982, between 1500 and 2500 aircrew, aerial port, and maintenance staff served on C-123 aircraft that had been used during the Vietnam War to spray military herbicides, including Agent Orange.  Many of the country’s top experts on Agent Orange, including the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, have written detailed statements supporting the crewmembers’ likely exposure to Agent Orange.  Despite this overwhelming evidence and support from the scientific community, the VA denies that any level of exposure to dioxin occurred.  As a result, many veterans’ disability claims have been denied by the VA.

After publication of a Washington Post story highlighting the serious health issues facing the C-123 veterans and the VA’s refusal to grant them benefits, the VA reversed its denial of disability benefits for LTCOL Paul Bailey.  This is a positive development, but there are still many other sick veterans waiting for the benefits they have earned.. 

Please join us in writing to Secretary Shinseki urging him to reevaluate previously denied claims and carefully consider pending claims.  To sign this letter, please contact Carly Katz in Rep. Bonamici’s office at carly.katz@mail.house.gov or Claire Cozad in Rep. Cook’s office at claire.cozad@mail.house.gov by COB October 3.

Sincerely,

Suzanne Bonamici                                         Paul Cook

Member of Congress                                     Member of Congress


---

October XX, 2013

Dear Secretary Shinseki:

Thank you for your work on behalf of our nation’s veterans.  We were pleased to hear that the Department of Veterans Affairs recently reversed its denial of disability benefits for LTCOL Paul Bailey, who served on C-123 aircraft in the years after the Vietnam War.  In light of this, we urge you to reevaluate previously-denied claims for other veterans who also served on C-123 aircraft.  In addition, we ask that you expedite review on current pending cases for the veterans who served aboard these planes, many of whom are suffering from multiple illnesses.

From 1972 to 1982, between 1500 and 2500 aircrew, aerial port, and maintenance staff served on C-123 aircraft that had been used during the Vietnam War to spray military herbicides, including Agent Orange.  These men and women served their country without knowledge of the danger posed to them by the dried herbicide residue on the aircraft.  Many of the country’s top experts on Agent Orange, including the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, have written detailed statements supporting the claims of the  crewmembers that they were exposed to Agent Orange.  Despite overwhelming evidence and support from the scientific community, the VA continues to deny that any level of exposure occurred.

As described in a recent Washington Post article, a 2009 recommendation by Hill Air Force Base in Utah stated that “smelting is necessary for these 18 [C-123] aircraft so the Air Force will no longer be liable for ‘presumptive compensation’ claims to any who works around this ‘Agent Orange’ metal.”  This appears to indicate a desire to obscure evidence of Agent Orange exposure in order to deny benefits to those who served; if that is accurate, it is shameful and an affront to many who put their lives on the line for our country.

The C-123 veterans deserve better than this.  Given the vast evidence from the toxicology community, as well as documentation from the military, the VA must seriously reconsider its position on this issue.  Those whose claims were denied deserve to have their files reopened and reevaluated.  And the claims that are still being processed must be given expedited, careful, and thoughtful review.  This attention should be given to all C-123 veterans who, from 1972 to 1982, flew the same aircraft from the same bases and with the same mission.

We will continue to follow this issue closely.  We look forward to a prompt response from you outlining the steps you plan to take to help the C-123 veterans.

      /s/       Susan Bonamici