January 08, 2019

Chairman Takano Introduces Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mark Takano (CA-41) released the following statement after introducing H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019:

“The 116th Congress has officially been sworn-in, and thousands of veterans are still waiting for their government to deliver on its promise and grant them the benefits they have earned. The fact that politics got in the way of our duty to care for veterans affected by toxic exposure is a disservice to the 90,000 Navy veterans who served in the coastal waters of Vietnam, and an insult to all veterans who served with the expectation that their country would care for them if they were wounded while serving.

“We must get to work and finally secure the benefits our Blue Water Navy veterans earned over 40 years ago. As Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, I am committed to working in a bipartisan manner to ensure this remains a top priority for this new Congress. It is time we right this wrong.

“It is up to Congress to ensure that we repay our debt to the veterans of this country by upholding our responsibility to provide treatment and care for injuries and illnesses sustained while they served.”

 

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