THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY ALLOWAY, KASUNIC, VOGEL, BAKER, FONTANA, ERICKSON, TARTAGLIONE, KITCHEN, RAFFERTY, BOSCOLA, FOLMER, GREENLEAF, ORIE, PILEGGI, LOGAN AND DINNIMAN, OCTOBER 19, 2009

REFERRED TO VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, OCTOBER 19, 2009  

A RESOLUTION

Urging Congress of the United States to restore the presumption

of a service connection for Agent Orange exposure for

veterans.

WHEREAS, Numerous herbicides and pesticides were sprayed from

1961 to 1971 over large areas of South Vietnam, Laos and

Cambodia during the war against Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, These herbicides, collectively known by the most

commonly used one, Agent Orange, contained poisons, including

2,3,7,8 TCDD (dioxin) and others, that cause harm to people and

animals; and

WHEREAS, Since 1991, the Department of Veterans Affairs has

recognized that a long list of diseases suffered by Vietnam

veterans and children of Vietnam veterans are caused by their

exposure to Agent Orange/dioxin; and

WHEREAS, From 1991 to 2002, the Department of Veterans

Affairs granted disability claims filed by veterans who served

in the waters offshore Vietnam for the presumption of exposure

to Agent Orange; and

WHEREAS, In February 2002, the Department of Veterans Affairs

required veterans to have "actually served on land within the

Republic of Vietnam" in order to qualify for the presumption of

exposure to Agent Orange; and

WHEREAS, As a result of this change, all pending and new

disability claims filed by veterans of the armed services who

served in the vicinity of Vietnam, including the waterways,

territorial waters and airspace and in Thailand, Laos and

Cambodia, but did not actually serve on the land within Vietnam

were denied unless proof was provided that the veteran actually

set foot on Vietnamese soil; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to

recognize that Vietnam veterans who served on land, sea or air

in the vicinity of Vietnam were also exposed, even though the

service in the vicinity often included opportunities for

exposure to dioxin, and even though many of these veterans have

the same diseases that have been linked to exposure to dioxin;

and

WHEREAS, The Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009 would ensure

that every service member deployed to land, sea or air in the

Republic of Vietnam is fully covered by the comprehensive Agent

Orange laws passed in 1991; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Pennsylvania urge Congress of

the United States to restore the presumption of a service

connection for Agent Orange exposure for veterans who served on

the waterways, territorial waterways and airspace of the

Republic of Vietnam and in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia by

passing the Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to

the President of the United States, the presiding members of

each house of Congress, each member of Congress from

Pennsylvania and the Department of Veterans Affairs.