The following are the comments sent to "Veterans Corner" from the national offices of the veterans organizations and several congress people about the article titled "Air Force Study Suggests Agent Orange, Diabetes Link," from the DEFENSE-PRESS-SERVICE.
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Joe Violante DAV
Ron,
Let me say that I am confident that VA will favorably move forward on this issue. This is a significant finding and the VA will be hard pressed not to grant service connection for diabetes as a residual of exposure to Agent Orange.
What I find most interesting about the Ranch Hand study is that no one, to my knowledge, has seriously questioned the sole use of Air Force Ranch Hand vets as the group to study. What about the chemical reaction on the ground of the toxic defoliant and the jungle growth it killed. Something that the Ranch Hand vets would not have been exposed to. In other word, they are only looking at the effects of exposure to the defoliant and failing to consider additional adverse effects of the chemical reaction when the toxic defoliant reacted with living trees and other growth.
Keep up the good work. Joe
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From Steve P. Thomas of The American Legion National HQ
OK, Ron:
"One of the ongoing problems with the Ranch Hand Study is that its findings have been withheld from veterans who may be deserving of health care and other benefits for illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure. It appears at least one thing has come out of this study that can help sick veterans.
"Based on information The American Legion has seen, VA should make diabetes a service-connected illness for veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Those veterans who qualify would be eligible for the medical treatment and just compensation that they earned by their sacrifice."
Steve Thomas, American Legion spokesman, Washington
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From Rowe, Frank of Congressman Sam Gejdenson (D) Connecticut
Ron,
Here is Sam's comment:
"These studies are very important because they help us to establish the health effects of our military activities. Whether we're talking about Agent Orange or Gulf War Syndrome, it is critical for the VA to have access to this kind of information so it can accurately determine the services and compensation that our veterans deserve."
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SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, VETERANS AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Christopher Shays, Connecticut Chairman
MEDIA RELEASE
March 29, 2000
Congressman Christopher Shays Terms Air Force Announcement Air Force Announcement On Association Between Agent Orange and Diabetes "Long Overdue""
(Washington, DC) -- Congressman Christopher Shays (R-CT), Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Relations today characterized the Air Force Surgeon Generals announcement of an association between Agent Orange exposure and diabetes a long overdue acknowledgement of the obvious.
Shays called on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM) to conclude ongoing reviews of the issue and add diabetes to the list of service-connected conditions for which Vietnam veterans can be compensated.
In 1982, the Air Force began a 25-year, $140 million research program to assess the relative health of 1300 Ranch Hands, air and ground crew members who handled and sprayed Agent Orange and other defoliants in Vietnam. A recent report by the General Accounting Office (GAO), examined in a March 15 hearing convened by Chairman Shays, stated that the Ranch Hand Study has been slow to publish findings, unwilling to share data, inconsistent in conveying design limitations, and resistant to congressionally-mandated participation by independent parties.
Since the Ranch Hand study began 18 years ago, it has only had an impact on the decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide compensation for veterans offspring born with spina bifida. The study has not contributed to decisions by the VA to compensate Vietnam veterans for any other diseases, according to the GAO. The finding of a possible association between herbicide exposure and diabetes mellitus, first reported by Ranch Hand study in 1991, has led to further discussions by the IOM and further study by the Air Force and other scientists, but Vietnam veterans with the disease are not yet eligible for compensation.
The basic data on the association between dioxin exposures and diabetes has been available since 1991, Shays said. Had this conclusion been reached then, how many Vietnam veterans might have been able to seek medical assessment and reduce their risk factors for diabetes and related illnesses?
Delayed conclusions like this do not inspire confidence in the governments willingness or ability to conduct the long-range health studies needed to assess the true health effects of military service. I call on the VA to expedite the establishment of a service-connection for veterans for diabetes and other diseases associated with exposure to herbicides in Vietnam.
Since 1991, the VA has been required by Congress to contract with the IOM to perform reviews of scientific literature, including the Ranch Hand study, on the associations between diseases and herbicide exposure. In a news release dated, March 14, 1996, the IOM stated: New evidence supports the association between chemicals used in herbicides [such as dioxins] in the Vietnam War and various cancers and other health problems, a committee of the IOM said in the first update of IOMs 1994 landmark report Veterans and Agent Orange. The report confirms the earlier finding that there is sufficient evidence of a link to soft tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and chloracne.
For information on veterans benefits call the V.A. toll free 1-800-827-1000. Comments and ideas for columns may be sent to Veterans Corner; P.O. Box 202; East Berlin, Ct. 06023. If a reply is requested, please send self addressed stamped business envelope.