Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019

To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 2. Clarification of presumptions of exposure for veterans who served in vicinity of Republic of Vietnam (a) Compensation Subsections (a)(1) and (f) of section 1116 of title 38, United States Code, are amended by inserting (including the territorial seas of such Republic pursuant to the maximum extent authorized by international law) served in the Republic of Vietnam (b) Health care Section 1710(e)(4) of such title is amended by inserting (including the territorial seas of such Republic pursuant to the maximum extent authorized by international law) served on active duty in the Republic of Vietnam (c) Effective date The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect as of September 25, 1985. 3. Presumption of herbicide exposure for certain veterans who served in Korea (a) In general Chapter 11 section 1116 1116A. Presumption of herbicide exposure for certain veterans who served in Korea (a) Presumption of service-Connection (1) For the purposes of section 1110 of this title, and subject to section 1113 of this title, a disease specified in subsection (b) that becomes manifest as specified in that subsection in a veteran described in paragraph (2) shall be considered to have been incurred or aggravated in the line of duty in the active military, naval, or air service, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service. (2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in or near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), during the period beginning on September 1, 1967, and ending on August 31, 1971. (b) Diseases A disease specified in this subsection is— (1) a disease specified in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of section 1116 of this title that becomes manifest as specified in that paragraph; or (2) any additional disease that— (A) the Secretary determines in regulations warrants a presumption of service-connection by reason of having positive association with exposure to an herbicide agent; and (B) becomes manifest within any period prescribed in such regulations. (c) Herbicide agent For purposes of this section, the term herbicide agent . (b) Clerical amendment The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1116 the following new item: 1116A. Presumption of herbicide exposure for certain veterans who served in Korea. . 4. Benefits for children of certain Thailand service veterans born with spina bifida (a) In general Subchapter III of chapter 18 1822. Benefits for children of certain Thailand service veterans born with spina bifida (a) Benefits authorized The Secretary may provide to any child of a veteran of covered service in Thailand who is suffering from spina bifida the health care, vocational training and rehabilitation, and monetary allowance required to be paid to a child of a Vietnam veteran who is suffering from spina bifida under subchapter I of this chapter as if such child of a veteran of covered service in Thailand were a child of a Vietnam veteran who is suffering from spina bifida under such subchapter. (b) Spina bifida conditions covered This section applies with respect to all forms and manifestations of spina bifida, except spina bifida occulta. (c) Veteran of covered service in Thailand For purposes of this section, a veteran of covered service in Thailand is any individual, without regard to the characterization of that individual's service, who— (1) served in the active military, naval, or air service in Thailand, as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975; and (2) is determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to have been exposed to a herbicide agent during such service in Thailand. (d) Herbicide agent For purposes of this section, the term herbicide agent . (b) Conforming amendment to definition of child Section 1831(1) of such title is amended— (1) in subparagraph (B)— (A) by striking subchapter III of this chapter section 1821 of this title (B) in clause (i), by striking section 1821 of this title that section (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (C) For purposes of section 1822 of this title, an individual, regardless of age or marital status, who— (i) is the natural child of a veteran of covered service in Thailand (as determined for purposes of that section); and (ii) was conceived after the date on which that veteran first entered service described in subsection (c) of that section. . (c) Clerical amendments (1) Subchapter heading The heading for subchapter III of chapter 18 of such title is amended by inserting and Thailand Korea (2) Table of sections The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 18 of such title is amended— (A) by striking the item relating to subchapter III and inserting the following new item: Subchapter III—Children of Certain Korea and Thailand Service Veterans Born with Spina Bifida ; and (B) by inserting after the item relating to section 1821 the following new item: 1822. Benefits for children of certain Thailand service veterans born with spina bifida. . (d) Report Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report identifying— (1) the military installations of the United States located in Thailand during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, at which an herbicide agent (as defined in section 1822 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)) was actively used; and (2) the period of such use. 5. Updated report on certain Gulf War Illness study Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate an updated report on the findings, as of the date of the updated report, of the Follow-Up Study of a National Cohort of Gulf War and Gulf Era Veterans under the epidemiology program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Summary: Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 This bill extends the presumption of service-connection for certain diseases associated with herbicide (e.g., Agent Orange) exposure to veterans who served (1) offshore of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, or (2) in or near the Korean Demilitarized Zone between September 1, 1967, and August 31, 1971. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific disabilities or diseases diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded. The bill extends eligibility for health care, vocational training and rehabilitation, and monetary allowance to children with spina bifida who have at least one veteran parent who may have been exposed to an herbicide agent while serving in Thailand between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. The Department of Veterans Affairs must report on the Follow-up Study of a National Cohort of Gulf War and Gulf War Era Veterans.