119-hr3052

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3052 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3052

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary 
 of Veterans Affairs to provide assistance for individuals affected by 
 exposure to Agent Orange, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 28, 2025

 Ms. Tlaib (for herself, Ms. Simon, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. 
 Carson, and Ms. McBride) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
 determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary 
 of Veterans Affairs to provide assistance for individuals affected by 
 exposure to Agent Orange, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Agent Orange Relief Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) 

=== Findings ===
-Congress makes the following findings:

    (1) From 1961 to 1971, approximately 19,000,000 gallons of 
 15 different herbicides were sprayed over the southern region 
 of Vietnam by the United States military.

    (2) The herbicides included 13,000,000 gallons of Agent 
 Orange, 4,500,000 gallons of Agent White, 1,000,000 gallons of 
 Agent Blue, 420,000 gallons of Agent Purple, and relatively 
 smaller quantities of the other herbicides. Many of the 
 herbicides, including Agents Orange, Purple, Green, Pink, 
 Dinoxol, and Trinoxol, contained the toxic contaminant dioxin

    (TCDD) . Agent Blue contained high levels of arsenic. The 15 
 herbicides, including the contaminant dioxin, are usually 
 collectively referred to as Agent Orange.

    (3) Between 1961 and 1971, nearly 20,000 spraying missions 
 were carried out in an area of about 1,700,000 hectares. This 
 represented about 10 percent of South Vietnam and portions of 
 Laos and Cambodia. These amounts only account for the United 
 States Air Force Operation Ranch Hand spraying and do not 
 include the widespread use of Agent Orange by the Army Chemical 
 Corps, Central Intelligence Agency, and South Vietnamese 
 Government.

    (4) Studies have found that between 2,100,000 and 4,800,000 
 Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian people and tens of thousands of 
 Americans were exposed to Agent Orange during the spraying 
 operations. Many other Vietnamese people were or continue to be 
 exposed to Agent Orange through contact with the environment 
 and food that was contaminated. Many offspring of those who 
 were exposed have birth defects, developmental disabilities, 
 and other diseases.

    (5) Agent Orange exposure continues to negatively affect 
 the lives of veterans of the United States Armed Forces, 
 Vietnamese people, Vietnamese Americans, and their children. 
 The lives of many victims are cut short, and others live with 
 disease, disabilities, and pain, which are often untreated or 
 unrecognized.

    (6) The Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes 19 
 illnesses and diseases in United States Vietnam war veterans, 
 including AL amyloidosis, bladder cancer, chronic B- cell 
 leukemia, chloracne, diabetes mellitus type 2, high blood 
 pressure

    (hypertension) , Hodgkin's disease, hypothyroidism, 
 ischemic heart disease, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined 
 significance

    (MGUS) , multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, 
 Parkinson's disease, Parkinsonism, acute and sub-acute 
 peripheral neuropathy, porphyria cutanea tarda, prostate 
 cancer, respiratory cancers, and soft-tissue sarcomas 
 associated with the spraying and use of Agent Orange by the 
 United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam era.

    (7) No similar recognition has been given to affected 
 Vietnamese or Vietnamese Americans.

    (8) The Department of Veterans Affairs provides 
 compensation for many severe birth defects among the children 
 of United States women veterans who served in Vietnam. The list 
 of birth defects covered includes, but is not limited to, 
 achondroplasia, cleft lip, cleft palate, congenital heart 
 disease, congenital talipes equinovarus

    (clubfoot) , esophageal 
 and intestinal atresia, Hallerman-Streiff syndrome, hip 
 dysplasia, Hirschsprung's disease (congenital megacolon), 
 hydrocephalus due to aqueductal stenosis, hypospadias, 
 imperforate anus, neural tube defects, Poland syndrome, pyloric 
 stenosis, syndactyly (fused digits), tracheoesophageal fistula, 
 undescended testes, and Williams syndrome. Affected children of 
 these women veterans receive medical care and other benefits.

    (9) However, the care and compensation provided by the 
 Department of Veterans Affairs to the covered children of 
 United States veterans is insufficient to meet their needs 
 related to Agent Orange.

    (10) The only birth defect recognized for the children of 
 male American veterans is spina bifida (but not occulta). 
 However, many children of male Vietnam war veterans have the 
 same range of birth defects and diseases as seen in the 
 children of female Vietnam war veterans. This discrepancy 
 results in most Agent Orange affected children of United States 
 veterans receiving no care or benefits.

    (11) No assistance has been given to the children of male 
 or female Vietnamese or Vietnamese Americans connected with 
 their exposure, or their parents' or grandparents' exposure.

    (12) The Institute of Medicine for the past several years 
 has noted that ``it is considerably more plausible than 
 previously believed that exposure to the herbicides sprayed in 
 Vietnam might have caused paternally mediated transgenerational 
 effects attributable to the TCCD contaminant in Agent Orange''. 
 In recent years, scientific studies have identified likely 
 epigenetic links between exposure to toxins and birth defects 
 and developmental disorders in subsequent generations. Some of 
 the children and grandchildren of exposed persons (Americans, 
 Vietnamese, and Vietnamese Americans) who were in southern 
 Vietnam during the Vietnam war era likely suffer from 
 disorders, birth defects, and illnesses related to Agent 
 Orange.

    (13) The assistance that the United States has provided for 
 environmental remediation of contamination at the Da Nang and 
 Bien Hoa airports has, in recent years, included funds for 
 public health and disabilities activities for individuals 
 residing in some affected areas.

    (14) Laos and Cambodia were also sprayed with Agent Orange 
 during the Vietnam war era. At least 527,000 gallons of Agent 
 Orange were sprayed in Laos and significant amounts were also 
 sprayed in Cambodia. Affected Lao and Cambodian people over 
 several generations suffer from medical conditions, birth 
 defects, and disabilities similar to those seen in Vietnam and 
 the United States. The United States has the responsibility to 
 take action to mitigate and provide compensation for those 
 effects. Further action will be needed to ascertain and 
 effectively address this legacy of the Vietnam war.

    (b) 

=== Purpose ===
-It is the purpose of this Act to address and 
remediate the ongoing damage that arose or will continue to arise from 
the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam war.

SEC. 3. PROVISION OF BENEFITS FOR CHILDREN OF MALE VETERANS WHO SERVED 
 IN VIETNAM WHO ARE AFFECTED BY CERTAIN BIRTH DEFECTS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 18 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended--

    (1) by striking ``woman Vietnam veteran'' each place it 
 appears and inserting ``Vietnam veteran'';

    (2) by striking ``women Vietnam veterans'' each place it 
 appears and inserting ``Vietnam veterans''; and

    (3) in the heading of such subchapter, by striking 
 ``Woman''.

    (b) Access to Records for Research 

=== Purposes ===
-

Section 1813 of title 
38, United States Code, is amended--

    (1) by redesignating subsection
            (c) as subsection
            (d) ; and

    (2) by inserting after subsection

    (b) the following:
 ``
            (c) Access to Records for Research 

=== Purposes ===
-

    (1) The Secretary 
shall require any health care provider with whom the Secretary enters 
into a contract under this subsection to provide access to the medical 
records of individuals who receive health care under this section to 
the Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of conducting 
research or providing support for research into the intergenerational 
effects of Agent Orange exposure.
 ``

    (2) In this subsection, the term `Agent Orange' includes any 
chemical compound which became part, either by design or through 
impurities, of an herbicide agent used in support of the United States 
and allied military operations in the Republic of Vietnam.''.
            (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by striking the item relating to subchapter II 
and inserting the following new item:

 ``subchapter ii--children of vietnam veterans born with certain birth 
 defects''.
            (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date that is 30 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 4. PUBLIC RESEARCH.

    (a) Support for Research.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 
coordination with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies and 
nongovernmental organizations, shall identify and provide assistance to 
support research relating to health issues of individuals affected by 
Agent Orange. Such research should include recommended focus provided 
by the United States Institute of Medicine as identified in their 
biennial Veterans and Agent Orange Update and supported by the active 
involvement of schools of public health and medicine located in the 
United States, Vietnam, and other interested countries.

    (b) Survey.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a 
survey of children of veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and 
have received health care under subchapter II of chapter 18 of title 
38, United States Code. The survey shall be designed to determine the 
extent to which such children are receiving adequate treatment for 
their medical conditions and disabilities. The Secretary shall make 
recommendations based on the survey as to any actions necessary to 
remedy any deficiencies identified pursuant to the survey.

SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENT AND 
 ASSISTANCE FOR VIETNAMESE AMERICANS.

    (a) Health Assessment.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall make grants to appropriate public health organizations and 
Vietnamese American organizations for the purpose of conducting a broad 
health assessment of Vietnamese Americans who may have been exposed to 
Agent Orange and their children or descendants to determine the effects 
to their health of such exposure.

    (b) Assistance.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
establish centers in locations in the United States where large 
populations of Vietnamese Americans reside for the purpose of providing 
assessment, counseling, and treatment for conditions related to 
exposure to Agent Orange. The Secretary may carry out this subsection 
through appropriate community and nongovernmental organizations or 
other suitable organizations, as determined by the Secretary.

SEC. 6. DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.

 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall each complete a plan for the implementation of 
the provisions of this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, that 
are applicable to such Secretary and shall issue a request for 
proposals, if applicable. The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall each implement the 
applicable provisions of this Act by not later than 18 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. QUARTERLY REPORTS.

 Not later than 30 days after the last day of each fiscal quarter 
beginning on or after 18 months after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall each submit to Congress a report on the 
implementation of the provisions of this Act applicable to such 
Secretary during the immediately preceding fiscal quarter.

SEC. 8. DEFINITION.

 For purposes of this Act, the term ``Agent Orange'' includes any 
chemical compound which became part, either by design or through 
impurities, of an herbicide agent used in support of the United States 
and allied military operations in the Republic of Vietnam.
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