I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2114 

To direct the Secretary of State, 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 29, 2015 

Ms. LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and 

Commerce and Foreign Affairs, 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 State, 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Victims of Agent Or5 ange Relief Act of 2015’’. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2114 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) From 1961 to 1971, approximately 

5 19,000,000 gallons of 15 different herbicides were 

6 sprayed over the southern region of Vietnam. The 

7 agents included 13,000,000 gallons of Agent Or8 ange, 4,500,000 gallons of Agent White, 1,000,000 

9 gallons of Agent Blue, 420,000 gallons of Agent 

10 Purple, and relatively smaller quantities of the other 

11 herbicides. Many of the herbicides, including Agents 

12 Orange, Purple, Green, Pink, Dinoxol, and Trinoxol 

13 contained the toxic contaminant dioxin (TCDD). 

14 One, Agent Blue, contained high levels of arsenic. 

15 The aforementioned 15 herbicides, including the con16 taminant dioxin, are usually collectively referred to 

17 as Agent Orange. 

18 (2) Studies show that between 2,100,000 and 

19 4,800,000 Vietnamese and tens of thousands of 

20 Americans were exposed to Agent Orange during the 

21 spraying. Many other Vietnamese were or continue 

22 to be exposed to Agent Orange through contact with 

23 the environment and food that was contaminated or 

24 as offspring of those exposed who now suffer from 

25 illnesses and disabilities. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2114 IH

1 (3) Today, there are still dozens of environ2 mental hot spots that continue to contaminate the 

3 food, soil, sediment, livestock, and wildlife with 

4 Agent Orange. 

5 (4) Agent Orange exposure continues to nega6 tively affect the lives of men and women in Vietnam 

7 and in the United States. The lives of many victims, 

8 including Vietnamese, United States veterans and 

9 their offspring, and Vietnamese-Americans, are cut 

10 short and others live with disease, disabilities, and 

11 pain, often untreated or unrecognized. 

12 (5) The Department of Veterans Affairs recog13 nizes certain illnesses and diseases, including AL 

14 amyloidosis, chronic B-cell leukemia, chloracne, dia15 betes mellitus type 2, Hodgkin’s disease, ischemic 

16 heart disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s 

17 lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, acute and sub-acute 

18 peripheral neuropathy, porphyria cutanea tarda, 

19 prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, and soft-tissue 

20 sarcomas as associated with the spraying and use of 

21 Agent Orange by the United States Armed Forces 

22 during the Vietnam era. 

23 (6) No similar consideration has been given to 

24 affected Vietnamese or Vietnamese-Americans. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2114 IH

1 (7) The Department of Veterans Affairs pro2 vides compensation for many severe birth defects 

3 among the children of American women veterans 

4 who served in Vietnam. The list of birth defects cov5 ered includes but is not limited to: achondroplasia, 

6 cleft lip, cleft palate, congenital heart disease, con7 genital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot), esophageal 

8 and intestinal atresia, Hallerman-Streiff syndrome, 

9 hip dysplasia, Hirschsprung’s disease (congenital 

10 megacolon), hydrocephalus due to aqueductal ste11 nosis, hypospadias, imperforate anus, neural tube 

12 defects, Poland syndrome, pyloric stenosis, 

13 syndactyly (fused digits), tracheoesophageal fistula, 

14 undescended testes, and Williams syndrome. Af15 fected children of these women veterans receive med16 ical care and other benefits. 

17 (8) The only birth defect recognized for the 

18 children of male American veterans is spina bifida 

19 (but not occulta), resulting in most affected children 

20 receiving no benefits. 

21 (9) No assistance has been given to the children 

22 of male or female Vietnamese or Vietnamese-Ameri23 cans connected with their exposure, or their parent’s 

24 or grandparent’s exposure. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2114 IH

1 (10) The Institute of Medicine for the past sev2 eral years has noted that ‘‘it is considerably more 

3 plausible than previously believed that exposure to 

4 the herbicides sprayed in Vietnam might have 

5 caused paternally mediated transgenerational effects 

6 . . . attributable to the TCCD contaminant in 

7 Agent Orange.’’. In recent years, scientific studies 

8 have identified likely epigenetic links between expo9 sure to toxins and birth defects and developmental 

10 disorders in subsequent generations. Some of the 

11 children and grandchildren of exposed persons 

12 (Americans, Vietnamese, and Vietnamese-Ameri13 cans) who were in southern Vietnam during the 

14 Vietnam era likely suffer from disorders, birth de15 fects, and illnesses related to Agent Orange. 

16 (11) Dating back to 2007, the United States 

17 has engaged in environmental remediation of con18 tamination at the Da Nang and Bien Hoa airports, 

19 and provided funds for public health and disabilities 

20 activities for individuals residing in some affected 

21 areas. 

22 (12) April 30, 2015, is the 40th anniversary of 

23 the end of the Vietnam War. 

24 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to ad25 dress and remediate the ongoing problems and concerns 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2114 IH

1 that arose or will arise from the use of Agent Orange dur2 ing the Vietnam era. 

3 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY 

4 HEALTH ISSUES RELATED TO EXPOSURE TO 

5 AGENT ORANGE. 

6 (a) FOR COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—The Secretary of 

7 State shall provide assistance to address the health care 

8 needs of covered individuals. Such assistance shall include 

9 the provision of medical and chronic care services, nursing 

10 services, vocational employment training, and medical 

11 equipment. 

12 (b) FOR CAREGIVERS.—The Secretary of State shall 

13 provide assistance to institutions in Vietnam that provide 

14 health care for covered individuals. Such assistance shall 

15 include— 

16 (1) medicines and medical equipment; 

17 (2) custodial care, home care, respite care, and 

18 daycare programs; 

19 (3) training programs for caregivers; 

20 (4) medical, physical rehabilitation, and coun21 seling services and equipment for illnesses and de22 formities associated with exposure to Agent Orange; 

23 and 

24 (5) reconstructive surgical programs. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2114 IH

1 (c) FOR HOUSING AND POVERTY REDUCTION.—The 

2 Secretary of State shall provide assistance to repair and 

3 rebuild substandard homes in Vietnam for covered individ4 uals and the families of covered individuals. The Secretary 

5 of State shall provide micro grants and loans to facilitate 

6 subsistence payments and poverty reduction for covered 

7 individuals and families of covered individuals. 

8 (d) FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

10 provide assistance to remediate those geographic 

11 areas of Vietnam that the Secretary determines con12 tain high levels of Agent Orange. 

13 (2) PRIORITY.—In providing assistance under 

14 this subsection, the Secretary of State shall give pri15 ority to heavily sprayed areas, particularly areas 

16 that served as military bases where Agent Orange 

17 was handled, and areas where heavy spraying and 

18 air crashes resulted in harmful deposits of Agent Or19 ange. 

20 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary 

21 of State shall— 

22 (1) provide assistance under this section (other 

23 than assistance under subsection (d)) through ap24 propriate Vietnamese community and nongovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:10 May 09, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2114.IH H2114

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2114 IH

1 mental organizations and, where necessary, public 

2 agencies; 

3 (2) provide assistance under this section to af4 fected persons in all areas of Vietnam, including 

5 rural, mountainous, and urban areas; 

6 (3) encourage strategic alliances between pri7 vate and public sector partners as a business model 

8 for achieving the goals of this section; and 

9 (4) seek out and actively encourage other bilat10 eral donors as well as United States and foreign 

11 business enterprises in Vietnam to support the goals 

12 of this section through development assistance and 

13 corporate philanthropy programs. 

14 (f) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this sec15 tion, the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means an individual 

16 who— 

17 (1) is a resident of Vietnam; and 

18 (2)(A) is affected by health issues related to ex19 posure to Agent Orange which took place during the 

20 period beginning on January 1, 1961, and ending on 

21 May 7, 1975, or who lives or has lived in or near 

22 those geographic areas in Vietnam that continue to 

23 contain high levels of Agent Orange as described in 

24 subsection (d); or 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2114 IH

1 (B) is affected by health issues described in 

2 subparagraph (A) as the child or descendant of an 

3 individual described in subparagraph (A). 

4 SEC. 4. PUBLIC RESEARCH. 

5 The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Veterans 

6 Affairs shall identify and provide assistance to support re7 search relating to health issues of individuals affected by 

8 Agent Orange. Such research should include recommended 

9 focus provided by the United States Institute of Medicine 

10 as identified in their biennial Veterans and Agent Orange 

11 Update, and supported by the active involvement of 

12 schools of public health and medicine located in the United 

13 States, Vietnam, and other interested countries. 

14 SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

15 HEALTH ASSESSMENT AND ASSISTANCE FOR 

16 VIETNAMESE-AMERICANS. 

17 (a) HEALTH ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary of Health 

18 and Human Services shall make grants to appropriate 

19 public health organizations and Vietnamese-American or20 ganizations for the purpose of conducting a broad health 

21 assessment of Vietnamese-Americans who may have been 

22 exposed to Agent Orange and their children or descend23 ants to determine the effects to their health of such expo24 sure. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2114 IH

1 (b) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of Health and 

2 Human Services shall establish centers in locations in the 

3 United States where large populations of Vietnamese4 Americans reside for the purpose of providing assessment, 

5 counseling, and treatment for conditions related to expo6 sure to Agent Orange. The Secretary may carry out this 

7 subsection through appropriate community and non8 governmental organizations or other suitable organiza9 tions, as determined by the Secretary. 

10 SEC. 6. PROVISION OF BENEFITS FOR CHILDREN OF MALE 

11 VETERANS WHO SERVED IN VIETNAM WHO 

12 ARE AFFECTED BY CERTAIN BIRTH DEFECTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 18 of 

14 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘woman Vietnam veteran’’ each 

16 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Vietnam veteran’’; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘women Vietnam veterans’’ each 

18 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Vietnam veterans’’; 

19 and 

20 (3) in the heading of such subchapter, by strik21 ing ‘‘WOMEN’’. 

22 (b) ACCESS TO RECORDS FOR RESEARCH PUR23 POSES.—Section 1813(b) of such title is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘(1) The Secretary’’; and 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2114 IH

1 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall require any health care pro4 vider with whom the Secretary enters into a contract 

5 under this subsection to provide access to the medical 

6 records of individuals who receive health care under this 

7 section to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the pur8 pose of conducting research or providing support for re9 search into the intergenerational effects of Agent Orange 

10 exposure.’’. 

11 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

12 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by striking 

13 the item relating to subchapter II and inserting the fol14 lowing new item: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER II. CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS BORN WITH CERTAIN

BIRTH DEFECTS’’. 

15 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 7. DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION. 

19 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, the Secretary 

21 of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Vet22 erans Affairs shall each complete a plan for the implemen23 tation of the provisions of this Act, and the amendments 

24 made by this Act, applicable to such Secretary and shall 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 2114 IH

1 issue a request for proposals, if applicable. The Secretary 

2 of State, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

3 and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall each imple4 ment the provisions of this Act applicable to such Sec5 retary by not later than 18 months after the date of the 

6 enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 8. QUARTERLY REPORTS. 

8 Not later than 30 days after the last day of each fis9 cal quarter beginning on or after 18 months after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, the 

11 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Sec12 retary of Veterans Affairs shall each submit to Congress 

13 a report on the implementation of the provisions of this 

14 Act applicable to such Secretary during the immediately 

15 preceding fiscal quarter. 

16 SEC. 9. DEFINITION. 

17 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘Agent Orange’’ 

18 includes any chemical compound which became part, ei19 ther by design or through impurities, of an herbicide agent 

20 used in support of the United States and allied military 

21 operations in the Republic of Vietnam. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS