Advocates are putting pressure on lawmakers to make a final decision on whether or not to add new illnesses to the list of diseases presumed to be linked to Agent Orange exposure. Last week, veterans groups wrote to the president in protest of a decision to delay the addition of Agent Orange illnesses until two VA studies are complete and ready for publication.
According to an article published by MilitaryTimes.com, “More than 40 senators, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, and seven veterans’ and military groups sent letters to President Donald Trump this week imploring him to designate four diseases as related to Agent Orange and other defoliants used during the Vietnam War. The senators said the administration’s delay in announcing a decision on how to designate the four ailments — bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, Parkinson’s-like symptoms, and hypertension — “continues to deny 190,000 sick and aging veterans the health care and compensation they have earned and desperately need.”
These groups included Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Military Officers Association of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS and the Fleet Reserve Association.
Relevant pages: Veterans Disability