Intro Of The Agent Orange Equity Act!

[Berta]

"When: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at Noon

Who: Chairman Bob Filner, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

William G. Jeff Davis, Blue Water Veteran

Ron Abrams, National Veterans Legal Services Program

John Rowan, Vietnam Veterans of America

Where: Cannon House Office Building Terrace

The intersection of New Jersey and Independence Avenues, S.E."

email from Jerrel Cook-

Many of you VNVET blog members know who Jeff is and many of us here know Ron Abrams-

I think this is a just a press conference ???

There is nothing at the H VAC site regarding live video feed-

This is GREAT NEWS for ANY vet exposed to AO ANYWHERE who has adisability on the AO presumptive lists.

Any more info I can get on this will be posted at hadit.

It isnt a shoo in at all -but it is a big start-

one of our members at BWNVV (Blue Water Navy)site committed suicide when he learned that the Haas case was knocked down.

He had AO disabilities and the court's decision prevented him from receiving VA comp. WHat a tragedy- NVLSP is appealing Haas.

[jamescripps2]

Berta said,

This is GREAT NEWS for ANY vet exposed to AO ANYWHERE who has adisability on the AO presumptive lists.

Berta, Seeing how the AO act of 2008 is written, I do not see any help for a veteran who was exposed to AO inside CONUS and has presumptive diseases. Could be that I am missing something here.

The stateside AO sites listed by the DoD as a result of Lane Evans request should have been addressed in the bill.

I do admit that this is a step in the right direction.

How long does a bill like this take to work its way through the system? Any ideas?

[danang_1969]

Berta said,

This is GREAT NEWS for ANY vet exposed to AO ANYWHERE who has adisability on the AO presumptive lists.

Berta, Seeing how the AO act of 2008 is written, I do not see any help for a veteran who was exposed to AO inside CONUS and has presumptive diseases. Could be that I am missing something here.

The stateside AO sites listed by the DoD as a result of Lane Evans request should have been addressed in the bill.

I do admit that this is a step in the right direction.

How long does a bill like this take to work its way through the system? Any ideas?

I think to solve the AO Blue Water issue the VA must first address those thousands of vets who have apllied for a presumptive, actually had their feet on the ground and has documented the presumptive in their claim and been denied anyway, then they can move on and to maybe accomplishing the task of Blue Water presumptive claims. Both are equally deserving but until they solve the on the ground vets, it will be difficult to add the Blue Water vets.

Edited July 22, 2008 by danang_1969 (see edit history)

[jamescripps2]

I think to solve the AO Blue Water issue the VA must first address those thousands of vets who have apllied for a presumptive, actually had their feet on the ground and has documented the presumptive in their claim and been denied anyway, then they can move on and to maybe accomplishing the task of Blue Water presumptive claims. Both are equally deserving but until they solve the on the ground vets, it will be difficult to add the Blue Water vets.

Those issues were addressed in the AO act of 1991. If the vet had boots on the ground and one of the listed diseases, inside the time limit, then there is no problem with the claim.

[simple fly]

then there are those of us that were exposed while servicing,washing,and wrenching on aircraft that flew through and during the excercises.we are just as sick and deserving.i have nearly all of the presumptives,just my feet were in the wrong place.

[Berta]

To Jamescript---As my post said-it isnt a shoo in- it is a big start.

I have been around this issue since the AO Settlement Fund came (about 1991 I think that was.)

And when the first 2 presumptives were determined as AO disabilities--

chloracne and Peripheral Neuropathy in the original AO regs were so difficult to prove under the regs that very very few vets were awarded these conditions.That hasnt changed unlesss to vet has DMII due to AO for the PN.

I have seen in the past 25 years many new regs added both to the AO regs as well as to the CFR because Copngressmen, Senators, and vets them selves hacked into the jungle of the legalize of passagages of bills that ultimately became regs that help vets.

Danang is correct-

there is absol;utely no reason for VA to continue any moratorium on Boot on ground veterans.

Rich Cohen- my SVR radio guest a few months ago (he is executive director of NOVA and came on the show as my guest when I contacted him about some of his testimony before the H VAC-

made good popint on the show- I posted it here-

here it is again-

any vet with boots on ground Nam and with any disability on the AO presumptive list shpw file a Writ of Mandamus with the CAVC asking the court to direct the RO to adjudicate their claim.

There is a long criteria before a bill can become a reg-

all veterans and anyone in the public will have ample chance for public comment if this bill even gets into the Fed Register for comment.When and if it does I will post the Federal Register link to it and anyone can comment on the final proposed regulation.