Legislature(2013 - 2014)BUTROVICH 205
04/03/2014 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR25 | |
| SB209 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HJR 25 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 209 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 366 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HJR 25-VIETNAM VETS: SERVICE-RELATED DISEASES
CHAIR DYSON announced the consideration of HJR 25. [CSHJR
25(MLV) was before the committee.]
9:02:19 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GABRIELLE LEDOUX, Alaska State Legislature,
Juneau, Alaska, sponsor of HJR 25, paraphrased the following
sponsor statement:
HJR 25 is a step towards fixing a bureaucratic lapse
in our treatment of Vietnam veterans. Currently only
soldiers who had "boots on the ground" during that
conflict are eligible for benefits related to their
exposure to Agent Orange.
HJR 25 urges the United States Congress to pass HR
543, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2013.
HR 543 amends current compensation in health care
regulations to include coverage of the service members
who served in the waters of Vietnam, many of whom were
also exposed to Agent Orange, a fact not recognized by
the federal government; these brave men and women
served their country honorably and we need to remind
Congress of its responsibility to our veterans.
9:04:03 AM
THOMAS BROWN, Staff, Representative Gabrielle LeDoux, Alaska
State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, provided background
information on HR 543 as follows:
In 2002, the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) made an administrative policy shift and
changed their regulations concerning Agent Orange
exposure, it was an arbitrary shift with no medical or
scientific basis.
Urging the passage of HR 543 would return the
compensation that these soldiers earned during the
service for their country. The bill enjoys bipartisan
support in Congress, 174 co-sponsors including our own
Don Young.
In Alaska, we have up to 609 Blue Water Navy veterans
that could be eligible for treatment for exposure to
Agent Orange and countless thousands of others across
the country. The Blue Water Navy, incidentally, is how
Navy and Marine personnel stationed in the offshore
waters of Vietnam are referred to as opposed to the
Brown Water Navy of the inland waters.
Should this legislature pass HJR 25, copies of the
resolution would be distributed to our congressional
delegation, congressional leadership, the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, the Vice President, and President
Obama.
In conclusion, I would just like to say that when
Washington doesn't do the right thing, it is our
responsibility to remind them and fulfill their debt
to our veterans.
SENATOR GIESSEL asked if coverage pertains to soldiers who were
not on the ground in Vietnam, but were exposed to Agent Orange
because they flew in and brought out injured soldiers covered in
Agent Orange.
MR. BROWN replied that was one of the circumstances. Others
include medical personnel who were exposed when they treated
exposed soldiers and Navy personnel stationed offshore who
cleaned exposed equipment.
9:06:34 AM
CHAIR DYSON said he did not realize that Agent Orange was
transferrable from person-to-person.
MR. BROWN replied it's more through physical contact from one
contaminated item to another.
CHAIR DYSON asked if exposure was from chemical contact and not
from a germ.
MR. BROWN answered correct.
CHAIR DYSON asked Representative LeDoux if she had seen Senator
Wielechowski's amendments.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX replied she may have seen one.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he had one amendment to present.
CHAIR DYSON asked which version of the bill was before the
committee.
MR. BROWN answered version U, [28-LS1350\U].
9:08:13 AM
RIC DAVIDGE, Chairman, Government Affairs, Vietnam Veterans of
America, Chapter 904-Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, introduced
himself.
CHAIR DYSON asked Mr. Davidge if he had seen Senator
Wielechowski's amendment.
MR. DAVIDGE answered yes. He explained that he had worked very
closely with Senator Wielechowski's staff and was very
supportive of the Blue Water Navy resolution.
CHAIR DYSON noted Mr. Davidge's history and called attention to
his tireless advocacy of veterans.
MR. DAVIDGE offered the following testimony:
My name is Rick Davidge, I am chairman of Government
Affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America-Alaska,
formally National Chairman of Government Affairs.
Representative LeDoux and Senator Wielechowski both
have copies of our national legislative agenda. The
second highest national priority for Vietnam Veterans
of America is what we call addressing the legacy of
toxic exposures, Agent Orange and dioxin.
Unfortunately not all wounds of war are immediately
obvious, either in immediate service or in a very
brief of time. In fact, we know that medical symptoms
can begin to develop after decades of exposure. Most
service members don't even know they're being exposed
because they are not unaware of the fact that there is
some sort of toxic material that they are in contact
with. We have specific evidence of pieces of
equipment, including trucks, tanks, planes,
helicopters, etc., all have been brought back to the
United States where it had been cleaned by people in
the United States who never went to Vietnam, but came
down with toxic exposure as a result of their exposure
to the pieces of Agent Orange on these pieces of
equipment. As a medic in Vietnam in 1965 with the
First Cav., we were totally unaware of the existence
of Agent Orange, obviously it was highly classified.
One of the things that we are trying to do in showing
the Blue Water Navy problem, and by the way, we have a
number of Alaska Vietnam veterans who have received
six figure checks as a result of their exposure which
has helped them pay for their extraordinary medical
demands, all of which are currently being paid for by
private insurance, the state, and municipal health
care programs because they previously did not qualify
for these considerations.
9:10:46 AM
MR. DAVIDGE continued to explain Agent Orange's impact on
Vietnam veterans:
One of the other concerns that we have, this is
relatively new over the last five to ten years, is we
have learned that there is an additional legacy,
particularly of dioxin in the Agent Orange exposure
were the progeny of Vietnam vets who were exposed were
effected by Agent Orange in that it changes the
genetic matrix of male sperm and then causes
significant birth defects. The addition of Senator
Wielechowski's resolution to this resolution will
bring that issue as well forward and initiate a
national study by the VA. You would think with the
enormous amount of money the VA has to research these
kinds of things, their attention on toxic exposures is
practically non-existent. We have been screaming at
the VA and at the Department of Defense (DOD) to start
paying better attention to the wounds created by toxic
exposures. Now the beginning of the current war there
was some effort to do that by DOD and kept records of
people who were exposed to burn-pits and these kind of
things. But in the last few years, six years, that has
basically stopped so we don't have that. Trying to
prove that you are were exposed is very difficult. The
most effective way we have found to prove it is using
the internet where we have a veteran, particularly an
Alaskan veteran that we worked with who came forward,
who has had leukemia for a very long time. Leukemia is
one of the most prominent illnesses as a result of
toxic exposure to Agent Orange dioxin. We put
everything that we could find from him, including
pictures he took while in service, put it on the
internet, and we were able to put together a couple of
affidavits from other people who swore that in fact
this gentleman was exposed.
MR. DAVIDGE noted that this past week he became aware of a man
whose son championed his effort and has just now been recognized
for Agent Orange exposure. He noted that the man's son used the
same kind of approach by using the internet to access pictures,
testimony, and affidavits from other people.
9:12:59 AM
He continued:
The state of Alaska, in municipal health care and
private health insurance, are the ones that have been
paying for the results of these toxic exposures; these
are direct results of service and particularly in many
cases, combat. The federal government has an
extraordinary moral and ethical obligation to
recognize these wounds of war and begin to pay
attention to them. I am very delighted that Senator
Wielechowski and my friend Gabrielle LeDoux came
together and put this together because this actually
makes a stronger statement from the people of Alaska
to Congress and to this Administration to recognize
Blue Water Navy and pay attention to the legacy of
Agent Orange. We have now three generations of
extraordinary birth defects as a result of this
exposure. Mr. Chairman, there is a personal note, you
have been a long champion of veterans in this state
and we salute you sir.
CHAIR DYSON asked him to verify that the Alaska Department of
Health and Human Services (DHSS) has been taking care of some of
the toxic exposure issues with some of Alaska's vets even
without the VA's support.
MR. DAVIDGE answered yes.
9:15:18 AM
CHAIR DYSON remarked that he is disappointed with the VA's
reluctance nationwide to treat veterans who present themselves
with issues that are related to war. He asserted that the
federal government is trying to draw-the-curtain-down on Vietnam
veterans.
MR. DAVIDGE replied yes and referred to a book, "Waiting for an
Army to Die." He noted Agent Orange's effect through the progeny
of children and grandchildren.
9:17:00 AM
JOHN PAUL ROSSIE, Executive Director, Blue Water Navy Vietnam
Veterans Association (BWNVVA), Littleton, Colorado, explained
that BWNVVA has been helping to get the information disseminated
to the public and legislators regarding HR 543. He summarized
that BWNVVA is trying to right an "administrative wrong" that
was put into place.
9:21:18 AM
CHAIR DYSON asked if there were people in the room that wanted
to testify on HJR 25. He asked Representative LeDoux if she
supports Senator Wielechowski's amendment.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX answered yes.
CHAIR DYSON solicited motion to move Amendment 1.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI moved Amendment 1.
9:21:53 AM
CHAIR DYSON found no objection and announced that Amendment 1
was adopted. He noted that resolutions submitted to the U.S.
Congress are not ignored and ultimately act as an endorsement
from the people of Alaska.
9:23:40 AM
SENATOR GIESSEL moved to report HJR 25, 28-LS1350\U as amended,
from committee with individual recommendations and attached zero
fiscal note.
9:24:00 AM
CHAIR DYSON announced that without objection, SCS CSHJR 25(STA)
has passed from the Senate State Affairs Committee with
individual recommendation and attached zero fiscal note.