I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2634 
To direct the Secretary of State to provide assistance for certain individuals 
affected by exposure to Agent Orange and the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to enhance the availability of medical care for descendants of 
veterans of the Vietnam era, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2011 
Mr. FILNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on For-
eign Affairs and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of State to provide assistance for 
certain individuals affected by exposure to Agent Orange 
and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enhance the 
availability of medical care for descendants of veterans 
of the Vietnam era, 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 2011’’. 
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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, includ-
ing 13,000,000 gallons of Agent Orange, were 
sprayed over the southern region of Vietnam. Many 
of such herbicides, including Agent Orange, were 
based with the toxic contaminant, known as dioxin. 
(2) It is estimated that between 2,100,000 and 
4,800,000 Vietnamese people were present during 
the spraying of Agent Orange and other herbicides 
and many more were or continue to be exposed 
through contact with the environment and food that 
was contaminated, or as offspring of those exposed 
who now suffer from illnesses and deformities. 
(3) Today, there are still dozens of environ-
mental hot spots in Vietnam which contaminate the 
food, soil, sediment, and wildlife and continue to ex-
pose the people of Vietnam to dioxin. 
(4) Agent Orange exposure continues to nega-
tively affect the lives of men and women in Vietnam 
and in the United States. The lives of many victims 
are cut short and others live with disease, disabil-
ities, and pain, often untreated or unrecognized. 
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(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 these deadly herbi-
cides, including Agent Orange, during the Vietnam War. 
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY 
HEALTH ISSUES RELATED TO EXPOSURE TO 
AGENT ORANGE DURING THE VIETNAM ERA. 
(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, 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-
formities associated with exposure to Agent Orange; 
and 
(5) reconstructive surgical programs. 
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(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.—The Sec-
retary of State shall provide assistance to remediate those 
areas in Vietnam that continue to contain high levels of 
dioxin, Agent Orange, and other contaminants used dur-
ing the Vietnam War. 
(e) FOR PUBLIC RESEARCH.—The Secretary of State 
shall provide assistance to support research relating to 
health issues of covered individuals. Such research should 
include the active involvement of schools of public health 
and medicine located in the United States, Vietnam, and 
other interested countries. 
(f) VIETNAMESE NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA-
TIONS.—Assistance under this section (other than assist-
ance under subsection (e)) shall be provided through ap-
propriate Vietnamese nongovernmental organizations and 
other community organizations. 
(g) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
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of State shall complete a plan for the implementation of 
this section. Not later than 180 days after completion of 
the plan, the Secretary of State shall begin implementing 
this section. 
(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means in an 
individual who— 
(A) is a resident of Vietnam; and 
(B) is affected by health issues related to 
exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam 
era; and 
(2) the term ‘‘Vietnam era’’ has the meaning 
given the term in section 101(29) of title 38, United 
States Code. 
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTERS FOR DESCEND-
ANTS OF VETERANS OF THE VIETNAM ERA. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDICAL CENTERS.—The 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish at least two 
regional medical centers of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs that are designed to address the medical needs of 
descendants of veterans of the Vietnam era. Such medical 
centers shall be— 
(1) associated with existing university-based 
medical centers; 
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(2) equipped to provide access to a full range 
of state-of-the-art medical care for illnesses, deformi-
ties, and developmental problems experienced by the 
descendants of veterans of the Vietnam era, includ-
ing diagnostic medicine, rehabilitative medicine, pe-
diatric medicine, psychiatry, and vocational training. 
(b) COORDINATION
OF MEDICAL RECORDS.—The 
medical centers established under this section shall coordi-
nate the medical records of patients who receive care at 
the centers with the Department of Veterans Affairs for 
the purpose of conducting research or providing support 
for research into the intergenerational effects of dioxin ex-
posure. 
(c) EMPLOYMENT OF SPECIALISTS.—The Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs shall employ medical personnel at the 
medical centers established under this section who are spe-
cialists in environmental illnesses and rehabilitative medi-
cine. 
(d) TRAVEL AND HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—The Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs shall provide assistance to indi-
viduals and families who travel to the medical centers es-
tablished under this section for diagnostic evaluation and 
treatment to cover the costs of travel to and from the med-
ical centers and the cost of housing while being evaluated 
or treated at the centers. 
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(e) DEFINITION OF VIETNAM ERA.—In this section, 
the term ‘‘Vietnam era’’ has the meaning given the term 
in section 101(29) of title 38, United States Code. 
SEC. 5. NATIONAL VIETNAM VETERANS READJUSTMENT 
STUDY. 
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 
the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study is ex-
panded to include a mortality and morbidity study exam-
ining the health outcomes of applicable Vietnam Veterans. 
SEC. 6. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH AS-
SESSMENT 
AND 
ASSISTANCE 
FOR 
VIET-
NAMESE AMERICANS. 
(a) HEALTH ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs shall make grants to appropriate public 
health organizations and Vietnamese-American organiza-
tions for the purpose of conducting a broad health assess-
ment of Vietnamese-Americans who may have been ex-
posed to Agent Orange and their children to determine 
the effects to their health of such exposure. 
(b) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall establish cen-
ters in locations in the United States where large popu-
lations of Vietnamese-Americans reside for the purpose of 
providing assessment, counseling, and treatment for con-
ditions related to exposure to Agent Orange. The Sec-
retary may carry out this subsection through appropriate 
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community and nongovernmental organizations or other 
suitable organizations, as determined by the Secretary. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘Agent Orange’’ includes any 
chemical compound which became part, either by de-
sign or through impurities, of an herbicide agent 
used in support of the United States and allied mili-
tary operations in the Republic of Vietnam. 
(2) The term ‘‘victim’’ includes any individual 
who is a Vietnamese national, Vietnamese-American, 
or United States veteran who was exposed to agent 
grange, or the progeny of such an individual, and 
who has a disease or disability associated with this 
exposure. 
(3) The term ‘‘impacted zone’’ includes the 
areas of Southeast Asia known to have been con-
taminated with Agent Orange, including southern 
Vietnam (the former South Vietnam), western Cam-
bodia, southern Laos and surrounding airspace and 
ocean ways. 
(4) The term ‘‘exposure period’’ includes— 
(A) for a United States veteran, any time 
from January 9, 1962, through May 7, 1975; 
and 
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(B) for a Vietnamese-American, the time 
period beginning on January 9, 1962, and end-
ing when the person emigrated from Vietnam; 
and 
(C) for a Vietnamese national, any time 
after January 9, 1962. 
(5) The term ‘‘veteran’’ includes any person 
who served on active or reserve duty in the Armed 
Forces during the exposure period in the impacted 
zone of the Republic of Vietnam including the inland 
waterways of such Republic, the waters offshore of 
such Republic, and the airspace above such Repub-
lic. 
SEC. 8. DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION. 
Not later than six months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and 
the Secretary of State shall each complete a plan for the 
implementation of the applicable provisions of this Act and 
shall issue a request for proposals, if applicable. The Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of State shall 
implement the provisions of this Act by not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 9. QUARTERLY REPORTS. 
Not later than 30 days after the last day of a fiscal 
quarter, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Sec-
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retary of State shall each submit to Congress a report on 
the implementation of the applicable provisions of this Act 
during the fiscal quarter covered by the report. 
Æ 
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