Tell your congressional representatives to co-sponsor HR 3518: Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act
Demand Aid to American Veterans and Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange and their Descendants
Write your letter now at: actionnetwork.org/letters/co-sponsor-hr3518
This May, Congresswoman Barbara Lee introduced HR 3518, the “Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act,” to urge the U.S. government to address the ongoing legacy of the Vietnam War and provide assistance for victims exposed to Agent Orange.
During the Vietnam War era from 1961 to 1971, millions of gallons of toxic herbicides were sprayed over Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, exposing millions of people to Agent Orange. The dioxins present in Agent Orange continue to leave a legacy of death, deformity, and disability for generations, impacting the lives of Cambodian, Lao, and Vietnamese people, U.S. military veterans, and their children. Today, there are still dozens of environmental hot spots in Vietnam that continue to contaminate the food, soil, livestock, and wildlife.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes over a dozen illnesses caused by Agent Orange exposure, including heart disease, Parkinson’s, and cancers. Many descendants of those exposed suffer from severe birth defects, developmental disabilities, and other diseases.
HR 3518 calls on the U.S. government to provide adequate compensation to cover the health care needs of Agent Orange victims and their affected descendants as well as to conduct environmental remediation for heavily sprayed areas in Vietnam.
