ATTENTION CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS

THIS BILL WAS INTRODUCED

by Senator Gillibrand & REFERRED to the Committe on Veterans Affiars.

If you follow the links you can vote to support this bill: S.1940

http://news.opencongress.org/bill/111-s1940/show

http://washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_SN_1940.html#toc0

S 1940 IS

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1940

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a study on the effects on children of exposure of their parents to herbicides used in support of the United States and allied military operations in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

October 27, 2009

Mrs. GILLIBRAND introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a study on the effects on children of exposure of their parents to herbicides used in support of the United States and allied military operations in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. STUDY ON ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DISEASES IN CHILDREN AND EXPOSURE OF PARENTS TO HERBICIDE AGENTS USED IN SUPPORT OF MILITARY OPERATIONS IN VIETNAM.

(a) In General- Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall complete a study on the effects on children of exposure of their parents to herbicides used in support of the United States and allied military operations in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era.

(b) Review of Scientific Evidence- As part of the study required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall review and evaluate the available scientific evidence regarding associations between diseases in children, including multiple sclerosis and asthma, and the exposure of their parents to dioxin and other chemical compounds in herbicides described in subsection (a).

(c) Report- Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of a Representatives a report on the findings of the Secretary as a result of the study required by subsection (a).

(d) Vietnam Era Defined- In this section, the term `Vietnam era' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.

PLEASE CONTACT THESE SENATORS IN SUPPORT OF BILL S. 1940 AGENT ORANGE CHILDRENS STUDY

Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
S.1940 - A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a study on the effects on children of exposure of their parents to herbicides used in support of the United States and allied military operations in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era, and for other purposes.

EMAIL CONTACT FORM ADDRESSES ARE PROVIDED FOR EACH SENATOR

Daniel Akaka
U.S. Senator, Hawaii
http://akaka.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
Richard Burr
U.S. Senator, North Carolina
http://burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
Mark Begich
U.S. Senator, Alaska
http://begich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=EmailSenator
Sherrod Brown
U.S. Senator, Ohio
http://brown.senate.gov/contact/
Roland Burris
U.S. Senator, Illinois
http://burris.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Lindsey Graham
U.S. Senator, South Carolina
http://lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.EmailSenatorGraham
John (Johnny) Isakson
U.S. Senator, Georgia
http://isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Mike Johanns
U.S. Senator, Nebraska
http://johanns.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorJohanns
Patty Murray
U.S. Senator, Washington
http://murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm
John (Jay) Rockefeller, IV
U.S. Senator, West Virginia
http://rockefeller.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Bernard (Bernie) Sanders
U.S. Senator, Vermont
http://sanders.senate.gov/contact/
Arlen Specter
U.S. Senator, Pennsylvania
http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
Jon Tester
U.S. Senator, Montana
http://tester.senate.gov/Contact/index.cfm
Jim Webb
U.S. Senator, Virginia
http://webb.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Roger Wicker
U.S. Senator, Mississippi
http://www.wickerforsenate.com/contact-form

AGENT ORANGE

Agent Orange is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, an estimated 80 000 m³ of Agent Orange was sprayed across South Vietnam.[1]

From 1961 to 1971, Agent Orange was by far the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the Herbicidal Warfare program.

Degradation of Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, and Green) released dioxins, which have caused health problems for those exposed during the Vietnam War. Agents Blue and White were part of the same program but did not contain dioxins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange

RAINBOW HERBICIDES

The Rainbow Herbicides are a group of chemicals used by the United States military in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

Success with Project AGILE field tests with herbicides in South Vietnam in 1961 led to the formal herbicidal program Trail Dust (1961 - 1971). Herbicidal warfare is a form of chemical warfare, in which the objective is to destroy the plant-based ecosystem of an area for the purpose of disrupting agricultural food production and/or destroying plants which provide cover to an enemy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_herbicides

FOR MORE INFO READ OUR BLOG

"RAINBOW HERBICIDES employed in the Herbicidal Warfare program"

JUST WAITING TO DIE.......... Vietnam veterans and their families who brought the original agent orange lawsuit 25 years ago alleged that the government "is just waiting for us all to die".

They alleged that most of those still alive would succumb to the effects of toxic exposure before the age of 65.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, shortly after the Vietnam War veterans reported various health complications which can be traced to exposure to the chemical Agent Orange.

American veterans of the Vietnam war were seeking recognition of agent orange syndrome, compensation and treatment for diseases that they and their children suffered from; many exposed to agent orange have not been able to receive promised medical care through the Veterans Administration medical system, and only with rare exception have their affected children received healthcare assistance from the government.

With the production of Agent Orange, dioxins are created as a by-product. These dioxins are known to be deadly.

Humans often show symptoms of dioxin poisoning when exposed to the contaminant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange

FOR MORE INFO SEE OUR BLOG "JUST WAITING TO DIE"

OTHERS EXPOSED AROUND THE GLOBE

In Australia, Canada and New Zealand, veterans obtained compensation in settlements that same year. In 1999, South Korean veterans filed a lawsuit in the Korean courts. In January 2006, the Korean Appeal Court ordered Monsanto and Dow to pay US$62 million in compensation.

However, no Vietnamese have received compensation, and on March 10, 2006, Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Vietnamese victims of agent orange against the chemical companies which produced the defoliants and herbicides.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange

OPERATION RANCH HAND originally OPERATION HADES

Operation Ranch Hand was a U.S. Military operation during part of the Vietnam War, lasting from 1962 until 1971.

It involved spraying an estimated 19 million US gallons of defoliants over rural areas of South Vietnam in an attempt to deprive the Viet Cong of vegetation cover and food.

Corporations like Dow Chemical Company and Monsanto were given the task of developing the following herbicides for this purpose: * Agent Pink * Agent Green * Agent Purple * Agent Blue * Agent White * Agent Orange

The defoliant used in the largest quantity was Agent Orange, a mixture of herbicides now known to have been contaminated with dioxin. About 12 million gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed over Southeast Asia during the American invasion.[citation needed] A prime area of Ranch Hand operations was in the Mekong Delta, where the U.S. Navy patrol boats were vulnerable to attack from the undergrowth at the water's edge. Operation Ranch Hand was concluded May 71 at Bien Hoa AB, RVN.

In 2005, the New Zealand government confirmed that it supplied Agent Orange chemicals to the United States military during the conflict. Since the early 1960s, and up until 1987, it manufactured the 2,4,5T herbicide at a plant in New Plymouth, which was then shipped to U.S. military bases in South East Asia.[1][2][3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_Dust