Assembly Resolution No. 796

BY: M. of A. Pheffer Amato

URGING the New York State Congressional delegation
to pass the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of
2017, S.422/H.R. 299

WHEREAS, The federal legislation, The Blue Water Navy Vietnam
Veterans Act of 2017, would restore the presumption of Agent Orange
exposure to those veterans who served in the bays, harbors, and
territorial seas of Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, S.422/ H.R. 299 would correct a Veteran's Affairs (VA)
policy decision implemented in 2002, that unilaterally stripped these
veterans of the presumption of exposure granted by the Agent Orange Act
of 1991; and

WHEREAS, This action was based on a 1997 General Counsel's opinion
that interpreted the phase "service in the Republic of Vietnam" as to
apply only to the landmass; the opinion ignored international
recognition that national sovereignty extended to the territorial seas;
and

WHEREAS, The United States specifically recognized this sovereignty
in the 1954 Geneva Accords and the 1973 Paris Peace Treaty that ended
the Vietnam War; and

WHEREAS, Dioxin is a chemical contaminant that was contained in
Agent Orange, a herbicide used for defoliation in Vietnam from 1962
until 1971; and

WHEREAS, Agent Orange received its name from orange painted on
barrels containing the herbicide; and

WHEREAS, Herbicide-spraying operations were conducted to clear
vegetation, denying the enemy camouflage or cover for ambush; herbicides
were also used to destroy enemy food crops and to clear base perimeters,
landing zones, waterways, and communication lines; an estimated 11
million gallons of Agent Orange was sprayed; and

WHEREAS, Diseases and/or conditions were recognized by the federal
Department of Veterans Affairs to be associated with Agent Orange; among
those cited include, but limited to: adult-onset diabetes mellitus (Type
11), Parkinson's disease, prostate cancer, multiple myeloma, respiratory
cancers, and soft-tissue sarcoma; and

WHEREAS, Throughout the Vietnam War, the United States Navy provided
support for combat operations ashore. This included air strikes and
close air support, naval gunfire support, electronic intelligence,
interdiction of enemy vessels and the insertion of supplies and troops
ashore. Almost every such operation was conducted within the territorial
seas; and

WHEREAS, In 1991, federal legislation was enacted to allow the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to declare certain illnesses "presumptive"

to exposure to Agent Orange and enabled these veterans to receive
disability compensation for these related conditions; and

WHEREAS, In 2002, the VA limited the scope of the law to only those
veterans who could provide orders for "boots on the ground" in Vietnam;
boots on the ground encompassed infantry and the riverine Navy; as a
result, veterans who served in the waters off Vietnam, commonly known as
"blue water veterans," were forced to file individual claims with the VA
to restore their benefits, which are then decided on a case-by-case
basis; the VA has denied over 32,000 through 2009; and

WHEREAS, In May 2011, a report issued by the Institute of Medicine
concluded that plausible routes of exposure of Agent Orange exist for
blue water veterans; presumptive coverage lifts the burden of prove from
the individual veteran to prove direct exposure of Agent Orange; and

WHEREAS, In April 2015, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
rules that the VA policy of excluding bays and harbors from the
definition of inland waters, presumption of exposure was irrational,
arbitrary and capricious; and

WHEREAS, There are estimated to be some 90,000 Blue Water Navy
veterans nationwide; and

WHEREAS, This legislation is endorsed by about 35 military and
veterans organization including but not limited to the American Legion,
The Military Coalition, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Reserve Officers
Association, Fleet Reserve Association, Military Officers Association of
America, Vietnam Veterans of America, the Association of the U.S. Navy,
Fleet Reserve Association and the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans
Association; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the New York State Congressional delegation be and
hereby is respectfully memorialized by this Legislative Body to pass
legislation to provide presumptive coverage of Agent Orange exposure to
those veterans known as "blue water veterans", S.422/ H.R.299; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to each member of the Congressional delegation from the
State of New York; John Rowan, President, Vietnam Veterans of America;
and Ned D. Foote, President, Vietnam Veterans of America New York State
Council.