VA extends benefits to reservists exposed to Agent Orange residue

Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. applauded news Thursday that the Department of Veterans Affairs has has decided to qualify reservists who served on C-123 aircraft that were previously contaminated with Agent Orange as veterans so they can receive proper health care and disability benefits.

On June 10, the senators blocked the confirmation of Dr. David J. Shulkin, President Obama’s nominee for Under Secretary for Health of the VA, announcing the hold on his confirmation would remain in place until the VA released a final decision.

Oregon Health and Sciences University has been a leader in research recognizing the impact of Agent Orange on C-123 reservists, including those who served at Rickenbacker Air Force Base in Columbus, Ohio.

“I’m glad the VA has finally acknowledged that these C-123 veterans, who were exposed to the hazards of Agent Orange, deserve medical care and benefits,” Wyden said. “While this decision is long overdue, I’m encouraged that the agency heeded our calls to change course and ensure that these veterans will receive the care they deserved from the start.”

“All servicemembers exposed to Agent Orange residue deserve the same benefits, whether they flew on missions that used the chemical or they worked on planes still contaminated by it years later,” Brown said. “I thank Secretary McDonald for his action to extend healthcare and disability benefits to C-123 reservists. These veterans have waited too long to receive benefits that they earned.”

“These veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange during their service on contaminated aircraft were injured serving our country, and we owe them the best care possible,” Merkley said. “Whether they were active duty or reservists, their sacrifices should be recognized. I’m glad the VA has finally reached the right decision and the affected veterans will receive justice, and I thank Secretary McDonald for getting this done.”

Previously, the VA argued that C-123 reservists did not qualify as “veterans” under the statute used to determine eligibility for VA benefits unless they were injured and incurred a disability or died from that injury during the period of training.

Several years ago, this issue was brought to the attention of Merkley and Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., by retired Air Force Major Wes Carter, formerly a resident of Asheville, NC and later a resident of McMinnville, OR, who was among the affected veterans.

Carter had taken the lead in investigating on behalf of his fellow veterans and organizing efforts to get them the care and benefits they needed.

In 2011, Merkley and Burr began pressing the VA to take action to help C-123 veterans suffering from the aftereffects of Agent Orange exposure.

In January of this year, the Institute of Medicine released a study affirming veterans’ claims that they had indeed been exposed to dangerous levels of dioxins on improperly decontaminated aircraft that had carried Agent Orange during the Vietnam War – directly refuting the VA’s past claims that there was insufficient scientific evidence linking exposure to dried Agent Orange to health effects decades later.

In April, Brown, Merkley and Wyden joined their Senate colleagues in a letter to VA Secretary Robert McDonald, arguing that the VA’s interpretation was incorrect, based on two precedent-setting legal memorandum from the VA’s Office of General Counsel that considered reservists as “veterans,” even if the disability from their injury did not manifest until after the period of training.

The senators called on McDonald to use the VA’s existing statutory authority to grant benefits to C-123 reservists.

More details on Thursday’s announcement can be found in this VA news release.