1Relating to the presumption of a service connection for Agent
2Orange exposure for certain Navy and Air Force veterans and
3calling on the Congressional Delegation of the Commonwealth
4of Pennsylvania to fully support and fund passage of the Blue
5Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2013.

6WHEREAS, During the Vietnam Conflict, the United States
7military sprayed more than 19 million gallons of Agent Orange
8and other herbicides over Vietnam to reduce forest cover and
9crops used by the enemy; these herbicides contained dioxin,
10which has since been identified as carcinogenic and has been
11linked with a number of serious and disabling illnesses now
12affecting thousands of veterans; and

13WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States passed the Agent
14Orange Act of 1991 to address the plight of veterans exposed to
15herbicides while serving in Vietnam; and

1WHEREAS, The act amended Title 38 of the United States Code
2to presumptively recognize as service-connected, certain
3diseases among military personnel who served in the Vietnam
4Conflict between 1962 and 1975; and

5WHEREAS, This presumption has provided access to appropriate
6disability compensation and medical care for Vietnam veterans
7diagnosed with such illnesses as Type II diabetes, Hodgkin's
8disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia,
9multiple myeloma, prostate cancer, respiratory cancers and soft-
10tissue sarcomas; and

11WHEREAS, Pursuant to a 2001 directive, the Department of
12Veterans Affairs policy has denied the presumption of a service
13connection for herbicide-related illnesses to Vietnam veterans
14who could not furnish written documentation that they had "boots
15on the ground" in-country, making it virtually impossible for
16countless United States Navy and Air Force veterans to pursue
17their claims for benefits; and

18WHEREAS, Many who had landed on Vietnamese soil could not
19produce proof due to incomplete or missing military records,
20moreover, personnel who had served on ships in the "Blue Water
21Navy" in Vietnamese territorial waters were, in fact, exposed to
22dangerous airborne toxins, which not only drifted offshore but
23also washed into streams and rivers draining into the South
24China Sea; and

25WHEREAS, Warships positioned off the Vietnamese shore
26routinely distilled seawater to obtain potable water; and

27WHEREAS, A 2002 Australian study found that the distillation
28process, rather than removing toxins, in fact, concentrated
29dioxin in water used for drinking, cooking and washing; and

30WHEREAS, This study was conducted by the Australian

1Department of Veteran Affairs after it found that Vietnam
2veterans of the Royal Australian Navy had a higher rate of
3mortality from Agent Orange-associated diseases than did Vietnam
4veterans from other branches of the military; and

5WHEREAS, When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
6studied specific cancers among Vietnam veterans, it found a
7higher risk of cancer among Navy veterans; and

8WHEREAS, Agent Orange did not discriminate between soldiers
9on the ground and sailors on ships offshore, and legislation to
10recognize this tragic fact and restore eligibility for
11compensation and medical care to Navy and Air Force veterans who
12sacrificed their health for their country is critical; and

13WHEREAS, When the Agent Orange Act passed in 1991 with no
14dissenting votes, Congressional leaders stressed the importance
15of responding to the health concerns of Vietnam veterans and
16ending the bitterness and anxiety that had surrounded the issue
17of herbicide exposure; and

18WHEREAS, Congress should reaffirm the nation's commitment to
19the well-being of all of its veterans and direct the Department
20of Veterans Affairs to administer the Agent Orange Act under the
21presumption that herbicide exposure in Vietnam includes the
22country's inland waterways, offshore waters and airspace;
23therefore be it

24RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly
25of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania respectfully urge the
26Congress and President of the United States to restore the
27presumption of a service connection for Agent Orange exposure
28for United States Navy and Air Force veterans who served on the
29inland waterways, territorial waters and in the airspace of
30Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia; and be it further

1RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of
2Pennsylvania forward official copies of this resolution to the
3President of the United States, to the President of the Senate
4and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United
5States, and to all the members of the Pennsylvania delegation to
6the 113th Congress urging the members of the delegation to
7support and fund the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of
82013 and with the request that this resolution be officially
9entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the
10Congress of the United States of America.