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Updated July 23- VA Sec Shinseki and Agent Orange Advocates Get Win on Expanded Agent Orange-related Illnesses, Obtain Court Order to Publish Agent Orange Presumptives Rule by
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- Update II: VA writes, “The final regulation covering claims for these [Agent Orange Presumptives]diseases will become effective later this year, and … the first use of the new [online claims] system will be limited to this subset of disabilities … .”
Update: VA’s Response to Court : VA has discretion to implement rules, knows the Agent Orange rules are late.
Victory for VA Secretary Shinseki and Agent Orange Victim Advocates -
The top administrative law court overseeing the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) has ordered VA Secretary Shinseki to publish the new Agent Orange Presumptives rule which expands the range of ailments attributed by the VA to Agent Orange exposure.
The judicial order by the D.C.-based appellate court, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, is dated July 15, 2010 and is issued in response to a writ of mandmumus (a court-ordered directive to a public body like the VA or lower court) petition (No. 949) by the Paralyzed Veterans of America and other parties.
The order is a victory for Agent Orange advocates and for Shinseki hailed as “championing funds to assist Veterans and their families affected by Agent Orange.”
The order for the publication of the rules comes weeks after the efforts of Sen. Jim Webb (D-Virgina) to delay the implementation of the new rules, an enterprise which drew the wrath of veterans around the country, and which drew the petition to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
As Chuck Palazzo wrote June 20:
Why Mr. Webb? You of all people know the struggle, the fact that this reckless chemical defoliant approach to fighting a war was wrong on the first place, you know how many died of cancer, from Agent Orange, and how many children have suffered. What of the children of Vietnam? Why after so many are gone, when there is hope, do you want to take the red marker to our lives?
There are those today with a brazen sense of greed, who seek to minimize the plight of the Vietnam Veteran and Agent Orange.
Corporate titans, Dow Chemical and Monsanto, had ridiculed the effort for expanded benefits to exposure to Agent Orange poisoning. Writes Robert L. Hanafin:
With one face the two-faced Dow Chemical and Monsanto deny the health risk to Veterans of Agent Orange poisoning but are quick with their other face to be cautioned about the Corporate Investment Risk of future claims or lawsuits due to Agent Orange use on Guam and elsewhere outside Vietnam.
Related Posts:
Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=40585
Posted by Yanira Farray on Jul 18 2010, With 0 Reads, Filed under Benefits, Vet News, Veterans Affairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
COMMENTS
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[...] Here is the original: VA Sec Shinseki and Agent Orange Advocates Get Win on Expanded … [...]
Does this mean some of the veterans will finally get the compensation they are entitled too?????Looks like it may be so….God Bless America. The courts got one right.
Hope. We hope.
I do think Sen. Jim Webb has one hell of a lot of explaining to do.
Agreed.
He sure does and the jerk is an Ex Marine. Someone has pulled his string and he must have liked it. To all vets he is now a so called traitor to vets. SEEVIEW
But the question remains. Did the Secretary follow through and sign it or was it seen as a threat to his authority? We’ve all got to still watch each other’s backs. After all, this is the political arena.
If anyone has definitive information, please publish results which came from the Order of the Court’s demand.
Thanks.
The VA writes, “The final regulation covering claims for these [Agent Orange Presumptives]diseases will become effective later this year, and … the first use of the new [online claims] system will be limited to this subset of disabilities … .”
So, yes, while telling the Court that he has discretion, the Secretary reaffirmed his intention to make the new presumptive effective this year.
There is no cure for what we have been exposed to. We can however write to everyone of the representatives and candidates before this election and let them know too many American troops and veterans have been dying needlessly for big corporations and the sub-contractors. The message needs to be heard by these in and seeking office.
I’ve begun a website which links directly to the USA representatives where anyone wanting to send these ëlected ones” a reminder that these false business wars need to end can do so.
Pass the word … Pazen la voz … http://02efe31.netsolhost.com/ Sempre Fi Lovenguth
Well Don’t get ur hopes up for anything positive comming in the near futurs… The Boneheads in Washington like The Anti Veteran Mr. Webb will do what ever they can do to shun the Responsibilty of the Federal Government.. All they are good for is starting wars that kill, as long as they and their friends can line their pockets…
Anyone that votes for or backs Mr.Webb, is even worse that he is.. That man needs to be kicked out of office and loose all his Retirement and Medical Insurances.. Mr. webb is anti American, and anti Veteran… He needs to have his Navy Cross and Silver Stars Shoved straight up where the sun doesn’t shine… The Man Is Snake…
A paper war hero….
You know when Webb beat Geroge Allen for his Virginia senate seat, I was very happy.
But I’m with you: Piss on this guy for pulling his stunt.
Semper Fi and Gary Owen, Michael. Some of us got herbicides in both DMZs, Nam and Korea. The article alludes to Korea. But when I click on it, it only talks about Nam. Is the full text coming?
Thx – Tom
Amen to that pocket lining of politicians! Ever seen one that came into office poor that didn’t leave as a millionaire?
Fellow vet (1965-1969)
[...] Federal Circuit Orders VA to Publish Agent Orange Presumptive Rules Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: Agent orange; presumptive rules; PVA; Federa Circuit; — veteranclaims @ 1:19 am Full Article at: VA Sec Shinseki and Agent Orange Advocates Get Win on Expanded Agent Orange-related Illnesses, Obtai… [...]
hell i.ll beleive it when someone gets the cash amen!!!!!!!!!!!
Could this be the beginning of a trend to open up dioxin induced illnesses like cancer to not just veterans but civilians affected by areas when 245 -T were used for decades near water sources and aquifers from military bases as well ?
Stay tuned !
Probably not, Lem. I lived next to the toxic El Toro Marine Base for years. Orange County is trying to turn it into a friggin’ park for children to play on and get poisoned. All to hide the reality horror show.
[...] VA Sec Shinseki and Agent Orange Advocates Get Win on Expanded … [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by PVMSEC, Amazing Guam. Amazing Guam said: VA Sec Shinseki and Agent Orange Advocates Get Win on Expanded … http://bit.ly/cnUcnB [...]
WHAT WONDERFUL NEWS!!!
I’m glad your country is looking at expanding their liability, I just wish ours would follow suit. As of right now, Veterans Affairs Canada is not accepting new claims for exposure to agent orange, those few who were eligible and still alive only had roughly a 1 year window to make a claim. So we had a restrictive timeline (had to be diagnosed and claimed NLT 2009)on top of already restrictive eligibility criteria (in CFB Gagetown during summer of ’66 or ’67) to receive a restrictive payout ($20000, one time payment) doesn’t scream of support. Our government sprayed various defoliants, including agent orange, over decades on almost every base in the country, but the only reason they are accepting any liability is because your government has.
Keep up the fight.
Hooray for National Healthcare, huh?
Thanks for your service to your country (and ours), Canadian Vet
T.G.
Sad to say that the VA has told the court (and us)
to go to HELL JULY 20,2010
I know I read this a.m. on another website that Shinseki refuted Court’s authority over “his” department. Could you refresh my memory as to the website that stated his comment. Like many of this, I’m all over the web trying to track the events tied to our due entitlement of compensation benefits before we die. Many thanks.
http://www.vawatchdog.org/10/nf10/nfjul10/jul10files/varesponse071910.pdf
We must remain positive and assume that somehow right action will be taken. It’s starting to look like another circle jerk. It’s bail out the banks and insurance companies and throw in the car companies but what ever you do don’t include the guy’s and gal’s who defend this country.
While they are at it throw in another 2.4 TRILLION DOLLARS for the middle east for the next 10 years but what ever you do don’t give the vet the help he need’s.
Sorry bunch we have leading our country. It needs a good clean out in DC.
Sorry for the negative comments but this seems like the 60′s all over again.
There are more vets that feel as you do than you think, and come november some of these career politicians are going to know it too!!!
Hang in there brother!
Regrettably, Sen. James Webb, D-Va. is a first term senator and won’t be up for re-election
until 2012. Sad that he is a Democrat and a veteran…
Let’s hope Shinseki has all his ducks in a row for the Sept. 23 Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing so Webb can’t continue to use stall tactics to try to derail these long overdue payments.
I had my first heart attack in 1997 at age 47 (Angioplasti) and second at 54 (triple by-pass
surgery). Dr. says it’s only a matter of time until the next one. Both were way to early. Had to quit
my job of 35 years because company I worked for couldn’t afford my insurance anymore. No one
wants to hire a 62 year old with heart disease. Hoping they resolve this quickly…
im cautious,but it still gives hope to nam vets that were exposed.anthing positive should be appreciated,just hope im not dead by that time.
I have been able to keep a job since nam ,didnt know about ptsd now i do. help ra rigth they reduced me from 80 to 60% because im not getting any worst. a battery of test in a few months to say that ,just lately my legs and feet beame swollen for no reason painful. went to hospital. now doctor maybe pill enteraction?? sending some infor to vfw/az 196-199 ligth infrantry also hdgts co 199th.
VA wants you to give up or die.
Don’t do either!
This is a small, but vital victory for all veterans. Yes, this decision only concerns those vets with these 3 diseases, if the served in Vietnam, but it is still a victory for all of us because it expands the current rules.
Now we need to continue to fight for our brothers and sister veterans who were in the Blue Water Navy, on Guam, Okinawa, Thailand, and everywhere else they were exposed to AO.
The VA assumes that veterans with Parkinson’s disease or for B-cell leukemia will be awarded 100-percent disability ratings. The average rating for ischemic heart diseases is expected to be 60 percent. In calculating VA costs from this change, VA assumes that 80 percent of the eligible population will apply for benefits and 100 percent of those who do will be approved. But eligible vets and survivors must file claims to get paid; nothing will happen automatically. To file claims online visit: http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp. Veterans without a computer can call a toll-free helpline at 1-800-749-8387.
This website is incorrect when it claims that the DC Circuit has ordered the VA to publish the final regulaiton. Read the Court’s July 15th Order. All the Court did–so far–was order the VA to respond to the paralyzed Veteran’s Petition for Writ of Mandamus. The VA did so, but the Court has not yet issued a response. From reading both the Paralyzed Veteran’s Petition and the VA’s Response, I am troubled that this Veterna’s group is not pushing the issues of what you veterans are being denied besides money. The VA claims they can “make you whole” by protecting your back payments. Maybe. But what about those who live homeless because they have no income now. What about those who will die because absent a service connected disablity, they cannot get medical care. How will the government fix those problems with back payments?
Should have given credit to Veterans Today for my earlier post;
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/04/11/va-proposes-change-to-aid-veterans-exposed-to-agent-orange/
It would seem to me that the veterans administration would want to put this behind them as soon as possible. It has taken way to long for them to acknowledge that agent orange caused all of these conditions in our vets, let alone drag their feet in enacting the regs for dealing with all of these illnesses. As a vet,I would like to see them expedite this well before years end!!! There are many of us who may not be able to hold on to the end of this year.
A concerned vietnam vet. (1965-1969)
c. smith
Apparently someting has gone into affect. The only claim I have in at the time is for Ischemic Cardiomyopathy. On the 29th of this month I received a letter from the VA that they have scheduled me for a C&P evaluation 90 miles away the the VA Clinic and Hospital in Tampa Fla. On Saturday the 28th of August at 1230 PM.
I guess that they dont have much faith in there own Doctors or my Doctors or the hospital records that they have. About 250 pages just from all of the hospital stays. So as I said something must of happened in the last few weeks. Good luck and god bless the survivers of VN (U 2 Mr Webb)
I have a claim in for CAD and agent orange also, applied on July 14th. I have sent in about the same amount of paperwork from Hospitals, etc. Haven’t received anything back from VA other than the acknowledgement of my claim. Please keep us informed about your progress and what your final rating ends up being. There are going to be a lot of CAD claims in the next few months.
Good luck with your claim.
They have found that the agent affects our hearts, would it affect a child’s heart in the womb, so as it can be malformed and cause miscarriages? The reason I ask is in the seventies after serving in Vietnam with the 25th Inf. Div. in Cu Chi, four children born after having two before going ,with no heart problems, the following five, four died, one lived with holes in her heart that was corrected thru. surgery, ah well there goes my spelling award.
The new DoD and DVA FY 2011-12 budgets should be an accurate indicator of whether the POTUS can effectively get his program for vets healthcare & benefits through Congress and this includes dioxin related illnesses.
All of the children that attended school on andersen afb and lived in the base housing areas around the Marbo barracks complex and on base near the fuel tank farms of Andy I and Andy II and Auto hobby shop are severely ill from direct exposure to the Agent Orange herbicides that I handsprayed near the areas they lived and went to school. Many are ill with autoimmune diseases and more including LUPUS, DIABETES II, ETC. Every family that I have been able to find that were stationed on Andersen AFB when I was there are all ill, many have had mulitple miscarriages, still born infants, severely malformed babies, multiple birth defects, and diseases passed on to their children now. I have several contact information and their dates on Guam and illnesses, miscarriages dates, still born babies, etc