Navy "blue water" veterans who are now sick because they were exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange while serving offshore during the Vietnam War could qualify for treatment and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, under a measure now pending before Congress. The bill, H.R. 543, would extend the same benefits to sick veterans who served beyond 12 miles of the coast as those afforded to their counterparts who served on land or closer to shore. Blue water veterans had been eligible for the benefits until 2002, when VA limited them to ground and riverine forces. Under the more restrictive guidelines, blue water veterans had to re-file individual claims to VA for restoration of their benefits. To date, VA has denied some 32,880 claims, according to the Association of the United States Navy. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Gibson, R-N.Y., is pending before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
