NEWS FROM….

CONGRESSMAN LANE EVANS

RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER

COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS

    U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Washington, DC – Lane Evans of Illinois, Democratic Leader of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, announced today that he has written to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Donna Shalala to ask her to appoint seven scientists nominated to vacant seats on the Advisory Committee of the Air Force’s Ranch Hand Study of the effects of Agent Orange used in Vietnam. "I have played an active role in the struggle for health care and compensation of Vietnam veterans affected by Agent Orange," said Evans. "I am concerned that there have been seven vacancies on the Ranch Hand Advisory Committee since the meeting last November, including the reappointment of the Chair. These positions must be filled to guarantee the scientific integrity of the investigation."

Evans said his understanding is that nominations for these positions have been on the Secretary’s desk for some time, awaiting final approval. Responsibility for oversight of the Ranch Hand Study’s Advisory Committee was given to HHS to resolve questions among Vietnam veterans about the objectivity of the Air Force in conducting the study.

"Agent Orange research remains a volatile issue," Evans wrote in the letter. "The Ranch Hand Study is currently seeking approval of its final cycle of work. Its report on diabetes is being given an expedited review by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in response to requests made by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at my urging." Evans said he has been informed that the Air Force wants a meeting of the Advisory Committee as soon of possible.

"Veterans have long suspected a connection between Agent Orange and diabetes," Evans said. "The Air Force study has found particularly strong evidence to support this association." Ranch Hand, a long-term study conducted by the Air Force to examine possible consequences of human exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides containing the contaminant dioxin, was begun in 1982.

Evans has been one of the most persistent Members of Congress in gaining health care and compensation for Vietnam veterans with problems related to the toxic defoliant. Evans served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam era, and has led the struggle for health care and compensation of Vietnam veterans affected by Agent Orange. Due to Evans’ persistent pressure, Congress enacted the Agent Orange Act of 1991, which gave the Department of Veterans Affairs authority to provide service-connected disability compensation to veterans based on the results of research.

Last year, Evans asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to look into the usefulness of the Ranch Hand Study. Although GAO confirmed historic problems in the study, Ranch Hand is the source of early and ongoing research into the connection between veterans' health and exposure to dioxin and other herbicides found in the Agent Orange defoliant. Some 18 million gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed in Vietnam beginning in 1962 to destroy jungle hiding places and enemy crops.

Ranch Hand has required a massive commitment of resources, Evans noted. "America’s taxpayers have literally invested $140 million dollars in the Ranch Hand study. We have gained important information from this work that will help America’s veterans, as well as other people whose lives have been affected by dioxin. We must reactivate the Advisory Committee which guarantees the study’s scientific integrity as soon as possible."