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HR 2114: The Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2015

By Susan Schnall

April 30, 1975: Reunification of Vietnam, the day the last Americans fled in helicopters from the roof of the Central Intelligence Station in the city that was then known as Saigon. That day that marked the end of the American War in Vietnam. That day the Vietnamese reclaimed their country. 40 years later, Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduced HR 2114-the Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2015 to heal the wounds of that conflict and help ameliorate the terrible suffering caused by the use of Agent Orange/dioxin in south and central Vietnam.

A classroom visit at Brandeis High School in New York. (l-r) Susan Schnall, Joe Hirsch and Brian Matarrese.

During the American War in Vietnam, the United States dropped 7.8 million tons of munitions, more than used in World War II on Germany and Japan combined. An estimated 800,000 tons failed to detonate, contaminating 20% of the land. 2 million gallons of Agent Orange/dioxin were sprayed over 18,000 square miles, covering five million acres of mangrove trees and forests, destroying 500,000 acres of crops. Today, 20 years after the United States and Vietnam have reconciled, the toxic legacies of the unexploded ordnance and contamination of the land and people remain.

The Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign, a project supported by VVAW, was organized in 2007 to heal the lasting legacy of this war and to work with the Vietnam Association for the Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin. Toward that end, we have written the legislation Congresswoman Barbara Lee presented on April 30th. This legislation would:

1. provide health care and social services for the Vietnamese harmed;
2. provide medical assistance and disability benefits to affected children of American Vietnam veterans;
3. provide health care for affected Vietnamese Americans and their offspring;
4. clean up the land and restore ecosystems contaminated by Agent Orange/dioxin in Vietnam; and
5. conduct research into the health effects of Agent Orange on Americans and the Vietnamese.

The Veterans Administration currently compensates American veterans if they served in Vietnam 1961-1971 for a variety of cancers, skin disorders, and endocrine imbalances. They also cover about 16 birth defects for the children of female American veterans, but only spina bifida for the children of male veterans. We believe there must be parity for all children who have been affected because of their parent's service in Vietnam.

Although the US Senate has authorized over $84 million for the cleanup of Da Nang Airport, there are still an estimated 27 remaining hot spots in south Vietnam where the US had military bases and used large amounts of Agent Orange. The main victims in Vietnam were civilians whose villages were repeatedly sprayed; they ate the contaminated crops, drank the ground water, and gave birth to children with severe defects.

We need your support. Contact your congressperson in the House of Representatives and request s/he become a co-sponsor of this bill. Congressman Raul Grijalva has again signed on as first co-sponsor. A delegation from Vietnam will be visiting Congress this fall, and we hope to have many representatives welcome them.

Please contact your congressperson in the House of Representatives and request they become a co-sponsor of HR 2114—the Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2015. For additional information, please contact the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign at: www.vn-agentorange.org.

Susan Schnall is a co-coordinator of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign. She is a member of VVAW, VFP and APHA.