I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 334 
To direct the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices, 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 
JANUARY 5, 2017 
Ms. LEE (for herself, Mr. NADLER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. ELLI-
SON, Mr. CONYERS, and Mr. SERRANO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addi-
tion 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 Af-
fairs to provide assistance for individuals affected by 
exposure to Agent Orange, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Victims of Agent Or-
ange Relief Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) 
From 
1961 
to 
1971, 
approximately 
19,000,000 gallons of 15 different herbicides were 
sprayed over the southern region of Vietnam. The 
agents included 13,000,000 gallons of Agent Or-
ange, 4,500,000 gallons of Agent White, 1,000,000 
gallons of Agent Blue, 420,000 gallons of Agent 
Purple, and relatively smaller quantities of the other 
herbicides. Many of the herbicides, including Agents 
Orange, Purple, Green, Pink, Dinoxol, and Trinoxol 
contained the toxic contaminant dioxin (TCDD). 
Agent Blue contained high levels of arsenic. The 
aforementioned 15 herbicides, including the contami-
nant dioxin, are usually collectively referred to as 
Agent Orange. 
(2) Between 1968 and 1971, a total of 6,500 
spraying missions were carried out in an area of 
about 1,500,000 hectares, which represented about 
10 percent of South Vietnam. 
(3) Studies show that between 2,100,000 and 
4,800,000 Vietnamese and tens of thousands of 
Americans were exposed to Agent Orange during the 
spraying. Many other Vietnamese were or continue 
to be exposed to Agent Orange through contact with 
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the environment and food that was contaminated or 
as offspring of those exposed who now suffer from 
illnesses and disabilities. 
(4) Today, there are still dozens of environ-
mental hot spots that continue to contaminate the 
food, soil, sediment, livestock, and wildlife with 
Agent Orange. In fact, concentrations of TCDD as 
high as 1,000 mg/kg were found in soil and sedi-
ment samples more than 30 years after Agent Or-
ange was sprayed in Vietnam. 
(5) Agent Orange exposure continues to nega-
tively affect the lives of veterans of the United 
States Armed Forces, Vietnamese people, Viet-
namese-Americans, and their children. The lives of 
many victims are cut short and others live with dis-
ease, disabilities, and pain, often untreated or unrec-
ognized. 
(6) The Department of Veterans Affairs recog-
nizes certain illnesses and diseases, including AL 
amyloidosis, chronic B-cell leukemia, chloracne, dia-
betes mellitus type 2, Hodgkin’s disease, ischemic 
heart disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s 
lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, acute and sub-acute 
peripheral neuropathy, porphyria cutanea tarda, 
prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, and soft-tissue 
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sarcomas as associated with the spraying and use of 
Agent Orange by the United States Armed Forces 
during the Vietnam era. 
(7) No similar consideration has been given to 
affected Vietnamese or Vietnamese-Americans. 
(8) The Department of Veterans Affairs pro-
vides compensation for many severe birth defects 
among the children of American women veterans 
who served in Vietnam. The list of birth defects cov-
ered includes but is not limited to: Achondroplasia, 
cleft lip, cleft palate, congenital heart disease, con-
genital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot), esophageal 
and intestinal atresia, Hallerman-Streiff syndrome, 
hip dysplasia, Hirschsprung’s disease (congenital 
megacolon), hydrocephalus due to aqueductal ste-
nosis, hypospadias, imperforate anus, neural tube 
defects, 
Poland 
syndrome, 
pyloric 
stenosis, 
syndactyly (fused digits), tracheoesophageal fistula, 
undescended testes, and Williams syndrome. Af-
fected children of these women veterans receive med-
ical care and other benefits. 
(9) The only birth defect recognized for the 
children of male American veterans is spina bifida 
(but not occulta), resulting in most affected children 
receiving no benefits. 
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(10) No assistance has been given to the chil-
dren of male or female Vietnamese or Vietnamese- 
Americans connected with their exposure, or their 
parent’s or grandparent’s exposure. 
(11) The Institute of Medicine for the past sev-
eral years has noted that ‘‘it is considerably more 
plausible than previously believed that exposure to 
the herbicides sprayed in Vietnam might have 
caused paternally mediated transgenerational effects 
. . . attributable to the TCCD contaminant in 
Agent Orange.’’. In recent years, scientific studies 
have identified likely epigenetic links between expo-
sure to toxins and birth defects and developmental 
disorders in subsequent generations. Some of the 
children and grandchildren of exposed persons 
(Americans, Vietnamese, and Vietnamese-Ameri-
cans) who were in southern Vietnam during the 
Vietnam era likely suffer from disorders, birth de-
fects, and illnesses related to Agent Orange. 
(12) Dating back to 2007, the United States 
has engaged in environmental remediation of con-
tamination at the Da Nang and Bien Hoa airports, 
and provided funds for public health and disabilities 
activities for individuals residing in some affected 
areas. 
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(13) April 30, 2017, is the 42th anniversary of 
the end of the Vietnam War. 
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to ad-
dress and remediate the ongoing problems and concerns 
that arose or will arise from the use of Agent Orange dur-
ing the Vietnam era. 
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY 
HEALTH ISSUES RELATED TO EXPOSURE TO 
AGENT ORANGE. 
(a) FOR COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—The Secretary of 
State shall provide assistance to address the health care 
needs of covered individuals. Such assistance shall include 
the provision of medical and chronic care services, nursing 
services, vocational employment training, and medical 
equipment. 
(b) FOR CAREGIVERS.—The Secretary of State shall 
provide assistance to institutions in Vietnam that provide 
health care for covered individuals. Such assistance shall 
include— 
(1) medicines and medical equipment; 
(2) custodial care, home care, respite care, and 
daycare programs; 
(3) training programs for caregivers; 
(4) medical, physical rehabilitation, and coun-
seling services and equipment for illnesses and de-
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formities associated with exposure to Agent Orange; 
and 
(5) reconstructive surgical programs. 
(c) FOR HOUSING AND POVERTY REDUCTION.—The 
Secretary of State shall provide assistance to repair and 
rebuild substandard homes in Vietnam for covered individ-
uals and the families of covered individuals. The Secretary 
of State shall provide micro grants and loans to facilitate 
subsistence payments and poverty reduction for covered 
individuals and families of covered individuals. 
(d) FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 
provide assistance to remediate those geographic 
areas of Vietnam that the Secretary determines con-
tain high levels of Agent Orange. 
(2) PRIORITY.—In providing assistance under 
this subsection, the Secretary of State shall give pri-
ority to heavily sprayed areas, particularly areas 
that served as military bases where Agent Orange 
was handled, and areas where heavy spraying and 
air crashes resulted in harmful deposits of Agent Or-
ange. 
(e) ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITIES.—The Secretary 
of State shall— 
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(1) provide assistance under this section (other 
than assistance under subsection (d)) through ap-
propriate Vietnamese community and nongovern-
mental organizations and, where necessary, public 
agencies; 
(2) provide assistance under this section to af-
fected persons in all areas of Vietnam, including 
rural, mountainous, and urban areas; 
(3) encourage strategic alliances between pri-
vate and public sector partners as a business model 
for achieving the goals of this section; and 
(4) seek out and actively encourage other bilat-
eral donors as well as United States and foreign 
business enterprises in Vietnam to support the goals 
of this section through development assistance and 
corporate philanthropy programs. 
(f) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means an individual 
who— 
(1) is a resident of Vietnam; and 
(2)(A) is affected by health issues related to ex-
posure to Agent Orange which took place during the 
period beginning on January 1, 1961, and ending on 
May 7, 1975, or who lives or has lived in or near 
those geographic areas in Vietnam that continue to 
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contain high levels of Agent Orange as described in 
subsection (d); or 
(B) is the child or descendant of an individual 
described in subparagraph (A), and is affected by 
health issues described in subparagraph (A). 
SEC. 4. PUBLIC RESEARCH. 
The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall identify and provide assistance to support re-
search relating to health issues of individuals affected by 
Agent Orange. Such research should include recommended 
focus provided by the United States Institute of Medicine 
as identified in their biennial Veterans and Agent Orange 
Update, and supported by the active involvement of 
schools of public health and medicine located in the United 
States, Vietnam, and other interested countries. 
SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 
HEALTH ASSESSMENT AND ASSISTANCE FOR 
VIETNAMESE-AMERICANS. 
(a) HEALTH ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall make grants to appropriate 
public health organizations and Vietnamese-American or-
ganizations for the purpose of conducting a broad health 
assessment of Vietnamese-Americans who may have been 
exposed to Agent Orange and their children or descend-
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ants to determine the effects to their health of such expo-
sure. 
(b) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall establish centers in locations in the 
United States where large populations of Vietnamese- 
Americans reside for the purpose of providing assessment, 
counseling, and treatment for conditions related to expo-
sure to Agent Orange. The Secretary may carry out this 
subsection through appropriate community and non-
governmental organizations or other suitable organiza-
tions, as determined by the Secretary. 
SEC. 6. PROVISION OF BENEFITS FOR CHILDREN OF MALE 
VETERANS WHO SERVED IN VIETNAM WHO 
ARE AFFECTED BY CERTAIN BIRTH DEFECTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 18 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘woman Vietnam veteran’’ each 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘Vietnam veteran’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘women Vietnam veterans’’ each 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘Vietnam veterans’’; 
and 
(3) in the heading of such subchapter, by strik-
ing ‘‘WOMEN’’. 
(b) ACCESS
TO RECORDS
FOR RESEARCH PUR-
POSES.—Section 1813(b) of such title is amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 
‘‘(1) The Secretary’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall require any health care pro-
vider with whom the Secretary enters into a contract 
under this subsection to provide access to the medical 
records of individuals who receive health care under this 
section to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the pur-
pose of conducting research or providing support for re-
search into the intergenerational effects of Agent Orange 
exposure.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by striking 
the item relating to subchapter II and inserting the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘SUBCHAPTER II. CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS BORN WITH CERTAIN 
BIRTH DEFECTS’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 7. DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs shall each complete a plan for the implemen-
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