Vietnamese kids have had numerous birth problems from the herbicide/chemical weapon Agent Orange. Not only that, but over a million United States veterans were hurt by it as well. Acute peripheral neuropathy, soft tissue sarcoma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma are just a few of the conditions troops who were either enlisted or chosen to serve came home with. There is a new ruling that says 270,000 Vietnam War veterans could be getting compensation for any diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s and types of leukemia. The Washington Post reports that that is around a quarter of the 1 million that are already getting disability checks right now. This means that forty two billion dollars will be spent by United States working class on this in a decade.
Anything from diabetes to erectile dysfunction as a result of Agent Orange
Diabetes is probably the most common medical problem Agent Orange caused for the Vietnam veterans, says the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Erectile dysfunction is a disease that normally age would cause however now is being tied Agent Orange, which means veterans get extra compensation. Former Wyoming Republican senator and current chairman of President Obama’s deficit commission, Alan Simpson, has said such compensation flies within the face of commitments to control federal spending.
“The irony (is) that the veterans who saved this country are now, in a way, not helping us to save the country in this fiscal mess,” he said.
Also, Sen. Daniel K Akaka (D-Hawaii) who is the chairman of Veterans’ Affairs Committee thinks these are “presumptive conditions” that working class are now paying for. The Post found an email stating Alkaka’s plans to be in a hearing on “what changes Congress and also the VA may need to make to existing law and policy,” around September 23.
VA spending does not compute
The Associated Press reports on the how much the Department of Veterans’ Affairs is going to end up spending on Vietnam veterans with diabetes. It appears like it could be way too much. The VA’s numbers for how much would be paid for diabetes per year are shown to be much higher than independent calculations based on VA records that show $850 million a year being enough. United States veterans are already getting $32 billion a year provided to them by the VA. That is why an extra $42 billion in just the next 10 years is such a shocking leap for many.
'Credible evidence for association’ is available
Victoria Anne Cassano, the Veterans’ Health Administration Director of Radiation and Physical Exposures, points to a 1991 federal law on Agent Orange that states that a good link between afflictions and also the chemical agent exists “if the credible evidence for the association is equal to or outweighs the credible evidence against the association.”
It is not hard to prove that. The Post reports this. Cassano says, “Does it make you take a deep breath? Does it give you pause? Yes. However you still do what you think is the right thing to do.”
Further reading
U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs
publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp
Washington Post
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/31/AR2010083106819.html
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
The children of Agent Orange, 2008 (WARNING: Disturbing content)
youtube.com/watch?v=9zay0zcC0K4
