Actualización sobre la peticiónGive the Vietnam Blue Water Navy Veterans their presumptive rights.Senator Blumenthal Supports the Blue Water Navy
The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association
10 nov 2016 — From: Senator Richard Blumenthal [mailto:senator@blumenthal.senate.gov] Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2016 11:23 AM To: ray@bluewaternavy.org Subject: Response To Your Inquiry Dear Mr. Melninkaitis, Thank you for contacting the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs regarding Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans. I appreciate hearing from you. In January, I led fourteen of my Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary McDonald, requesting he expand VA’s guidelines for Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans exposure benefits. Unfortunately, rather than siding with our veterans, VA is doubling down on an irrational and inconsistent policy. Young sailors risked their lives during the Vietnam War, unaware that decades later, they and their children and grandchildren would still feel the toxic effects of exposure. Veterans who served in the waters of Vietnam were exposed and deserve the presumption of service connection for Agent Orange-related diseases. I have since urged my colleagues in Congress to support S.681, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2015, which would ensure all veterans exposed to Agent Orange are compensated. While S. ConRes 51 expresses a non-binding sense of Congress of its original intent not to limit eligibility to veterans who had “boots on the ground,” it is not an alternative to passage of S. 681, the Blue Water Navy Veterans Act. Congress must not allow endorsement of a half measure to impede progress in passing this important legislation. In my role as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, I will continue working to enact legislation that would actually grant the benefits that Blue Water Navy Veterans have earned and deserve. Again, thank you for contacting the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. I will keep your thoughts in mind while working on these important issues. There is no higher priority for me than ensuring that our country stands up for the brave veterans who have fought for our freedom and safety. I am committed to providing veterans and their families with the care and benefits they deserve. For up-to-date information on what the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is working on, please visit www.veterans.senate.gov . Sincerely, Richard Blumenthal United States Senate If you would like to contact me again on this issue or another issue, please do not respond to this email address. Please, instead, use the contact form on my website: https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/contact. I look forward to hearing from you. Share this and get more signatures.
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