over a million American veterans have been hurt by the herbicide/chemical weapon Agent Orange that has also caused a ton of birth flaws in Vietnamese children. Diseases were brought home by the United States soldiers which were there either due to enlistment or as a result of the draft. Just a few of these contain Hodgkin’s lymphoma, soft tissue sarcoma and even acute peripheral neuropathy. In two months, approximately 270,000 Vietnam War veterans – more than a quarter of the one million-plus receiving disability checks, reports the Washington Post – are to be compensated for diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s and certain types of leukemia under a new rule. This means that $42 billion will be spent by American working class on this in 10 years.
Loads of diseases from diabetes to erectile dysfunction come with Agent Orange
Diabetes is one of the most common medical problem Agent Orange caused for the Vietnam veterans, says the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Erectile dysfunction is a disease that normally age would cause however now is being tied Agent Orange, which means veterans get extra compensation. Alan Simpson thinks that this compensation is way far off from what federal spending is trying to do. Alan Simpson is the chairman of President Obama’s deficit commission.
“The irony (is) that the veterans who saved this country are now, in a way, not helping us to save the country in this fiscal mess,” he said.
Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, is also critical of what he calls “presumptive conditions” that are being addressed with taxpayer funds. On Sept. 23 or soon thereafter, Akaka will participate in a hearing that will address “what changes Congress and the VA may need to make to existing law and policy,” he said via an e-mail obtained by the Post.
Too much VA spending
According to the Associated Press, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs may end up overpaying for Vietnam veterans with diabetes. Independent calculations depending on VA records show that only $850 million a year is needed to help those with diabetes. Unfortunately, the VA’s numbers are much higher than that. Considering the VA spends $34 billion a year on disability benefits for American veterans wars, the forty two billion dollars increase over the next a decade is an earth-shattering leap.
There is ‘Credible evidence for association’
A 1991 federal law on Agent Orange, pointed out by Victoria Anne Cassano, the Veterans’ Health Administration Director of Radiation and Physical exposures, saying that there is a link between afflictions and also the chemical agent “if the credible evidence for the association is equal to or outweighs the credible evidence against the association.”
It is not hard to prove that. The Post reports this. Cassano asks, “Does it make you take a deep breath? Does it give you pause? Yes. However you nevertheless do what you think is the right thing to do.”
Additional reading
U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs
publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp
Washington Post
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/31/AR2010083106819.html
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
The children of Agent Orange, 2008 (WARNING: Disturbing content)
youtube.com/watch?v=9zay0zcC0K4
