I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3596 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a task force on 

Agent Orange exposure. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 28, 2021 

Mr. KATKO (for himself and Mr. LAMB) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a 

task force on Agent Orange exposure. 

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 ‘‘Lawrence J. Hackett, 

5 Jr., Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange Fairness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TASK FORCE 

7 ON AGENT ORANGE EXPOSURE. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans 

9 Affairs shall establish a task force to assess and make rec10 ommendations about the care and compensation that 


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1 should be provided to veterans who have been exposed to 

2 Agent Orange, their spouses, and multiple generations of 

3 their offspring. 

4 (b) COMPOSITION.—The task force shall be composed 

5 of the following: 

6 (1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

7 (2) The Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

8 for Benefits. 

9 (3) The Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

10 for Health. 

11 (4) At least one representative from the Insti12 tute of Medicine. 

13 (5) Individuals selected by the Secretary who 

14 represent veterans’ service organizations recognized 

15 by the Secretary for the representation of veterans 

16 under section 5902 of title 38, United States Code. 

17 (6) Such other individuals selected by the Sec18 retary who represent such other organizations and 

19 institutions as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

20 (c) DUTIES.—The duties of the task force are as fol21 lows: 

22 (1) To make recommendations to establish a 

23 program to be known as the ‘‘Agent Orange Illness 

24 Compensation Program’’ to provide an exposed vet25 eran, or eligible survivor of that veteran if the vetVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:50 Jul 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3596.IH H3596

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1 eran is deceased, a lump sum payment for the in2 jury, illness, or death of that veteran. 

3 (2) To make recommendations for the establish4 ment of a coordinated, ongoing, national outreach 

5 and education campaign using such means as direct 

6 mail, on-line media, social media, and traditional 

7 media to communicate information about Agent Or8 ange exposures and health conditions to veterans 

9 who are affected by incidents of toxic exposures and 

10 their families. 

11 (3) To make recommendations for compensa12 tion and health care for individuals with Spina 

13 Bifida, birth defects, or other illnesses who are the 

14 children or descendants of members of the Armed 

15 Forces who served in the Republic of Vietnam or in 

16 or near the demilitarization zone in Korea during 

17 certain time periods determined by the task force. 

18 (4) To make recommendations for the establish19 ment of a unified policy to deal with the con20 sequences of exposure to hazardous materials in the 

21 military. 

22 (d) DURATION.—The task force established under 

23 subsection (a) shall terminate not later than two years 

24 after the date on which the task force is established under 

25 such subsection. 


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1 (e) REPORTS.— 

2 (1) SUBMITTAL OF REPORT.—Not later than 

3 one year after the date of the establishment of the 

4 task force, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

5 submit to Congress a report on the findings of the 

6 task force this section. 

7 (2) ASSESSMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION.—Not 

8 later than 120 days after the termination of the task 

9 force, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re10 port containing the assessment of the Secretary re11 garding the implementation of the findings of the 

12 task force. 

13 (f) DEFINITION OF AGENT ORANGE.—In this section, 

14 the term ‘‘Agent Orange’’ means a chemical in an herbi15 cide used in support of the United States and allied mili16 tary operations in the Republic of Vietnam during the pe17 riod beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 

18 7, 1975. 

Æ 


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