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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
04/24/2024 06:05 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20130&cosponId=20538
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House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: July 15, 2016 10:28 AM
From: Representative Thomas P. Murt
To: All House members
Subject: Resolution Memorializing Congress to Support Passage of H.R.1769 as well as Include Additional Ailments Presumed Caused by Exposure to Agent Orange and Other Chemicals
 
When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn't over for the veterans, or the family. It's just starting.
…….Karl Marlantes


I will soon be introducing a resolution memorializing Congress to do the following:
  1. Support the passage of H.R. 1769, known as the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015 to establish a national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of the descendants of veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
  2. Add bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, Parkinson’s-like symptoms, and hypertension to the list of 14 existing ailments presumed caused by exposure to Agent Orange and other chemical defoliants and military herbicides used in Vietnam.When these diseases are added, more veterans, dependents, and survivors will see faster compensation claims and retroactive benefits.

During their service, many veterans have come into contact with various toxic chemicals, including Agent Orange and other dioxin-contaminated herbicides during the Vietnam War, various neurotoxins during the Gulf War, and chemical weapons and burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan during Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn. This exposure has been linked to certain presumptive diseases that may affect both the veterans who were exposed, and their children and grandchildren. There are also unexplained service-connected ailments and undetected residual medical conditions, including potential congenital malformations, resulting from exposure to toxic chemicals, the extent, composition, and effects of which we do not yet understand.

Scientific evidence from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a division of the National Academy of Sciences, establishes clear and distinct relationships between the use of Agent Orange and other chemical defoliants and military herbicides that have been used in these wars and these conditions, ailments, and diseases. Our military personnel who have served with such great courage and bravery in their country’s wars, should no longer be denied V.A. benefits, or be forced to plead for benefits, which they have earned and to which they are entitled. These veterans and their families have suffered for many years and deserve this compensation.

Please consider cosponsoring this important bill.

Introduced as HR966