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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, During the Vietnam War, the United States military |
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sprayed more than 19 million gallons of Agent Orange and other |
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herbicides over Vietnam to reduce forest cover and crops used by the |
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enemy; these herbicides contained dioxin, which has since been |
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identified as carcinogenic and has been linked with a number of |
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serious and disabling illnesses now affecting thousands of |
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veterans; and |
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WHEREAS, The United States Congress passed the Agent Orange |
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Act of 1991 to address the plight of veterans exposed to herbicides |
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while serving in the Republic of Vietnam; the Act amended Title 38 |
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of the United States Code to presumptively recognize as |
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service-connected certain diseases among military personnel who |
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served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1975; this presumption has |
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provided access to appropriate disability compensation and medical |
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care for Vietnam veterans diagnosed with such illnesses as Type II |
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diabetes, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic |
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lymphocytic leukemia, multiple myeloma, prostate cancer, |
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respiratory cancers, and soft-tissue sarcomas; and |
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WHEREAS, Pursuant to a 2001 directive, United States |
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Department of Veterans Affairs policy has denied the presumption of |
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a service connection for herbicide-related illnesses to Vietnam |
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veterans who could not furnish written documentation that they had |
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"boots on the ground" in-country, making it virtually impossible |
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for countless United States Navy and United States Air Force |
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veterans to pursue their claims for benefits; many who had landed on |
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Vietnamese soil could not produce proof due to incomplete or |
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missing military records; moreover, personnel who had served on |
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ships in the "Blue Water Navy" in Vietnamese territorial waters |
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were, in fact, exposed to dangerous airborne toxins, which not only |
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drifted offshore but also washed into streams and rivers draining |
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into the South China Sea; and |
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WHEREAS, Warships positioned off the Vietnamese shore |
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routinely distilled seawater to obtain potable water; a 2002 |
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Australian study found that the distillation process, rather than |
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removing toxins, in fact concentrated dioxin in water used for |
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drinking, cooking, and washing; this study was conducted by the |
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Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs after it found that |
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Vietnam veterans of the Royal Australian Navy had a higher rate of |
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mortality from Agent Orange-associated diseases than did Vietnam |
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veterans from other branches of the military; when the United |
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States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied specific |
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cancers among Vietnam veterans, it found a higher risk of cancer |
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among United States Navy veterans; and |
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WHEREAS, Agent Orange did not discriminate between soldiers |
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on the ground and sailors on ships offshore, and legislation to |
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recognize this tragic fact and restore eligibility for compensation |
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and medical care to United States Navy and United States Air Force |
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veterans who sacrificed their health for their country is critical; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, When the Agent Orange Act passed in 1991 with no |
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dissenting votes, congressional leaders stressed the importance of |
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responding to the health concerns of Vietnam veterans and ending |
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the bitterness and anxiety that had surrounded the issue of |
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herbicide exposure; the United States Congress should reaffirm the |
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nation's commitment to the well-being of all of its veterans and |
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direct the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to |
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administer the Agent Orange Act under the presumption that |
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herbicide exposure in the Republic of Vietnam includes the |
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country's inland waterways, offshore waters, and airspace; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to restore the |
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presumption of a service connection for Agent Orange exposure to |
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United States Navy and United States Air Force veterans who served |
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on the inland waterways, in the territorial waters, and in the |
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airspace of the Republic of Vietnam; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the |
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senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the |
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Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this |
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resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |