NORTH CAROLINA -- An effort to help an estimated 90,000 Vietnam Veterans has gotten tied up on Capitol Hill.

  • The bill would change rules dealing with so-called “Blue Water Navy Veterans,” who believe they were exposed to Agent Orange while serving off the coast of Vietnam.
  • That bill would force the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide those vets with special access to disability benefits.
  • If lawmakers do not reach some sort of agreement and pass the legislation, they will have to start over from square one when the new Congress convenes next year.

The bill would change rules dealing with so-called “Blue Water Navy Veterans,” who believe they were exposed to Agent Orange while serving off the coast of Vietnam.

This week, a small group of senators blocked a vote on the legislation. That bill would force the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide those vets with special access to disability benefits. Veterans who served onshore during the war already have access to those benefits.

“We are not doing what is right by these veterans,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who is among those calling on the senate to pass the bill in the waning days of this Congress. “They were exposed and you know they have been exposed because they are dying of the same cancers of everybody else whose been exposed.”

Exposure to the chemical is associated with a host of diseases, like Type 2 diabetes, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, and prostate cancer.

“This is about fairness, this is about justice, this is about legislative intent,” said Sen. Steve Daines, (R-Mont.), another supporter of the bill.

Up until 2002, veterans who never stepped on Vietnamese soil qualified for special access to the benefits. But then the VA changed its policies. Since then, the fight has been on, with advocates looking to the courts and Congress for help.

Earlier this year, the House passed the legislation with flying colors – not a single ‘no’ vote. In the House, it garnered 330 co-sponsors. It has since gotten tied up in the upper chamber.

Those expressing opposition question whether there is sufficient scientific proof that the vets out at sea were impacted by the toxic chemical. Others are raising concerns about the potential price tag.

“The VA’s analysis shows the cost could be nearly five times what Congress assumed it was when the House of Representatives passed it,” said Sen. Mike Enzi, (R-Wyo.).

As part of the plan, other veterans would help cover the cost of the expanded disability coverage. A new fee would be tacked onto their home loans, amounting to a few dollars each month, according to bill advocates.

If lawmakers do not reach some sort of agreement and pass the legislation, they will have to start over from square one when the new Congress convenes next year.