I 
Union Calendar No. 36 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 299 
[Report No. 116–58] 
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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 8, 2019 
Mr. TAKANO (for himself, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Penn-
sylvania, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. NEAL, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. DAVIS of Cali-
fornia, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, 
Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Ms. GABBARD, Ms. BROWNLEY of 
California, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. 
ENGEL, Ms. MENG, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 
CONNOLLY, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. TONKO, Mr. BROWN of Mary-
land, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MASSIE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. MI-
CHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. BEYER, 
Mr. KATKO, Mrs. MURPHY, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, 
Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. RYAN, Mr. SABLAN, Ms. STEFANIK, 
Mr. SIRES, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. 
PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. GARAMENDI, 
Mr. CORREA, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. 
ADAMS, Mr. RUSH, Ms. TITUS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. CART-
WRIGHT, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. 
AGUILAR, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. COHEN, Mr. KHANNA, 
Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. WELCH, Mr. BOST, 
Mr. SOTO, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. 
BONAMICI, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. LAMB, Mr. BARR, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, 
Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. COOK, and Mr. PALAZZO) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Af-
fairs 
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MAY 10, 2019 
Additional sponsors: Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. 
MOORE, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. MOONEY 
of West Virginia, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. 
LARSEN of Washington, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. KILMER, Mr. 
KENNEDY, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. HILL of Ar-
kansas, Mr. ZELDIN, Mr. MARINO, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. CRIST, 
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DELGADO, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, 
Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. 
PETERSON, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. OLSON, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. JONES, 
Mr. SARBANES, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. JOHNSON 
of Ohio, Mr. VAN DREW, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. DUFFY, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. 
BUCHANAN, Mr. BABIN, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, 
Mr. COLE, Mr. GIANFORTE, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
KINZINGER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. WATERS, Mr. THOMPSON of California, 
Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. POSEY, Mrs. TORRES of California, 
Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. KIND, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, 
Mrs. LESKO, Mr. BERGMAN, Mr. BACON, Mr. TURNER, Mrs. LEE of Ne-
vada, Mr. MAST, Mr. GALLAGHER, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. KEVIN HERN of 
Oklahoma, Mr. MITCHELL, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. 
ROUZER, Mr. SPANO, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. BRINDISI, Mr. 
CASE, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mr. MEADOWS, Mrs. 
BUSTOS, Mr. CROW, Mr. SMITH of Missouri, Mr. KIM, Mr. CRAWFORD, 
Mr. HURD of Texas, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. MEUSER, Mr. HECK, Mr. 
PAPPAS, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. LATTA, Ms. WEXTON, Mr. WATKINS, Mr. 
KING of New York, Mr. ROSE of New York, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. WEB-
STER of Florida, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. SHALALA, Mr. HORSFORD, Mrs. 
MILLER, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. WILD, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. SIMPSON, 
Ms. HAALAND, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. AMASH, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
SUOZZI, Mr. COLLINS of New York, Mr. GOHMERT, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. 
GALLEGO, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, Ms. DEAN, Mr. YAR-
MUTH, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. DEUTCH, 
Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY 
of New York, Mr. MCCAUL, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. HILL of California, Ms. 
DEGETTE, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. RIGGLEMAN, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. 
PERRY, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. HUNTER, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. RICH-
MOND, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. HIMES, Ms. 
UNDERWOOD, Mr. WALDEN, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. 
MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. RICE of 
South Carolina, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. NORMAN, Ms. KENDRA S. 
HORN of Oklahoma, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. 
LAMALFA, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. NOR-
CROSS, Ms. PORTER, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. 
SLOTKIN, Mr. STAUBER, Ms. OMAR, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, Mr. 
GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. ALLRED, Mrs. AXNE, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. CASTOR 
of Florida, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. HOLDING, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, 
Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Ms. BASS, Mr. HUDSON, Mr. LUCAS, Mrs. 
RADEWAGEN, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. CLINE, Ms. 
FINKENAUER, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, Mr. STEIL, Mrs. CRAIG, Mr. 
HARDER of California, Mr. EMMER, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. JOHN-
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SON of Texas, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. HAGEDORN, Mr. VELA, Ms. LOFGREN, 
Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. COSTA, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. CALVERT, 
Mr. LONG, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. REED, Mr. 
SAN NICOLAS, Mr. BERA, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. GOODEN, Ms. JUDY 
CHU of California, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, 
Mr. ARMSTRONG, Mr. UPTON, Mr. PENCE, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. 
MOULTON, Ms. SPANBERGER, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. JACKSON 
LEE, Mr. CUELLAR, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. 
COX of California, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. STIVERS, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. TAY-
LOR, Mr. BRADY, Mr. GOLDEN, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. 
VEASEY, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. 
BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. SHIMKUS, Ms. 
SCHRIER, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. GREEN of Tennessee, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. 
TIMMONS, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. BLU-
MENAUER, Mr. STANTON, and Ms. PRESSLEY 
MAY 10, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 8, 2019] 
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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 ‘‘Blue Water Navy Viet-
nam Veterans Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF PRESUMPTIONS OF EXPOSURE 
FOR VETERANS WHO SERVED IN VICINITY OF 
REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1116 the 
following new section: 
‘‘§ 1116A. Presumptions of service connection for vet-
erans who served offshore of the Republic 
of Vietnam 
‘‘(a) SERVICE CONNECTION.—For the purposes of sec-
tion 1110 of this title, and subject to section 1113 of this 
title, a disease covered by section 1116 of this title becoming 
manifest as specified in that section in a veteran who, dur-
ing active military, naval, or air service, served offshore 
of the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on 
January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, shall be con-
sidered to have been incurred in or aggravated by such serv-
ice, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of 
such disease during the period of such service. 
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‘‘(b) EXPOSURE.—A veteran who, during active mili-
tary, naval, or air service, served offshore of the Republic 
of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 
1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, shall be presumed to 
have been exposed during such service to an herbicide agent 
unless there is affirmative evidence to establish that the vet-
eran was not exposed to any such agent during that service. 
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE OF AWARD.—(1) Except as pro-
vided by paragraph (2), the effective date of an award 
under this section shall be determined in accordance with 
section 5110 of this title. 
‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding subsection (g) of section 5110 
of this title, the Secretary shall determine the effective date 
of an award based on a claim under this section for an 
individual described in subparagraph (B) by treating the 
date on which the individual filed the prior claim specified 
in clause (i) of such subparagraph as the date on which 
the individual filed the claim so awarded under this section. 
‘‘(B) An individual described in this subparagraph is 
a veteran, or a survivor of a veteran, who meets the fol-
lowing criteria: 
‘‘(i) The veteran or survivor submitted a claim 
for disability compensation on or after September 25, 
1985, and before January 1, 2020, for a disease cov-
ered by this section, and the claim was denied by rea-
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son of the claim not establishing that the disease was 
incurred or aggravated by the service of the veteran. 
‘‘(ii) The veteran or survivor submits a claim for 
disability compensation on or after January 1, 2020, 
for the same condition covered by the prior claim 
under clause (i), and the claim is approved pursuant 
to this section. 
‘‘(d) 
DETERMINATION
OF
OFFSHORE.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, for purposes of this 
section, the Secretary shall treat a location as being offshore 
of Vietnam if the location is not more than 12 nautical 
miles seaward of a line commencing on the southwestern 
demarcation line of the waters of Vietnam and Cambodia 
and intersecting the following points: 
‘‘Points Geographic Names 
Latitude 
North 
Longitude 
East 
At Hon Nhan Island, Tho Chu Archipelago 
Kien Giang Province 
9°15.0′ 
103°27.0′ 
At Hon Da Island southeast of Hon Khoai Is-
land Minh Hai Province 
8°22.8′ 
104°52.4′ 
At Tai Lon Islet, Con Dao Islet in Con Dao- 
Vung Toa Special Sector 
8°37.8′ 
106°37.5′ 
At Bong Lai Islet, Con Dao Islet 
8°38.9′ 
106°40.3′ 
At Bay Canh Islet, Con Dao Islet 
8°39.7′ 
106°42.1′ 
At Hon Hai Islet (Phu Qui group of islands) 
Thuan Hai Province 
9°58.0′ 
109°5.0′ 
At Hon Doi Islet, Thuan Hai Province 
12°39.0′ 
109°28.0′ 
At Dai Lanh point, Phu Khanh Province 
12°53.8′ 
109°27.2′ 
At Ong Can Islet, Phu Khanh Province 
13°54.0′ 
109°21.0′ 
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‘‘Points Geographic Names 
Latitude 
North 
Longitude 
East 
At Ly Son Islet, Nghia Binh Province 
15°23.1′ 
109° 9.0′ 
At Con Co Island, Binh Tri Thien Province 
17°10.0′ 
107°20.6′ 
‘‘(e) HERBICIDE AGENT.—In this section, the term 
‘herbicide agent’ has the meaning given that term in section 
1116(a)(3) of this title.’’. 
(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. Presumptions of service connection for veterans who served offshore of the 
Republic of Vietnam.’’. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 
(1) GUIDANCE.—Notwithstanding section 501 of 
such title, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may issue 
guidance to implement section 1116A of title 38, 
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), before 
prescribing new regulations under such section. 
(2) UPDATES.—(A) Not later than 120 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall submit a report to the Committees on 
Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and 
the Senate regarding the plans of the Secretary— 
(i) to conduct outreach under subsection (d); 
and 
(ii) to respond to inquiries from veterans 
regarding claims for disability compensation 
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under section 1116A of title 38, United States 
Code, as added by subsection (a) of this section. 
(B) On a quarterly basis during the period be-
ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and 
ending on the date on which regulations are pre-
scribed to carry out such section 1116A, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 
the House of Representatives and the Senate updates 
on the status of such regulations. 
(3) PENDING CASES.— 
(A) AUTHORITY TO STAY.—The Secretary 
may stay a claim described in subparagraph (B) 
until the date on which the Secretary commences 
the implementation of such section 1116A. 
(B) CLAIMS
DESCRIBED.—A claim de-
scribed in this subparagraph is a claim for dis-
ability compensation— 
(i) relating to the service and diseases 
covered by such section 1116A; and 
(ii) that is pending at the Veterans 
Benefits Administration or the Board of 
Veterans’ Appeals on or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and before the date on 
which the Secretary commences the imple-
mentation of such section 1116A. 
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