Since March 2016, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been weighing whether to expand Agent Orange benefits to Vietnam vets with bladder cancer and hypothyroidism, as well as other ailments. It keeps missing its own deadlines to act.
This report was originally published on November 3.
Days after he was sworn in as Veterans Affairs secretary this year, Dr. David Shulkin held a digital town hall meeting to take veterans’ questions.
A veteran named Jack posed a question of paramount importance to many
Vietnam veterans: Would the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs expand
the list of diseases that are presumed to be linked to Agent Orange, a
toxic herbicide used to kill forests during the Vietnam War?
“We're getting very close to being able to give you a final answer on
that,” Shulkin said on Feb. 24, adding that he was weeks away from
being presented with the data he needed to make a decision.
“I’m anxious
to get it so that we can begin to get answers to people like Jack,
because it's been too long that they've been waiting to get those
answers.”
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Source: ProPublica
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