I would like to thank Chairman Filner and Ranking Member Buyer for holding today’s hearing on the Health Effects of the Vietnam War.  I would also like to thank our witnesses for agreeing to testify.

We are here today for several important reasons.  First, we are here to examine the health effects that Vietnam veterans sustained during that war, especially concerning their exposure to herbicides we generally refer to as Agent Orange.  Second, we are here to discuss VA’s exclusion of Blue Water veterans from presumption of service connection for certain illnesses.  Lastly, we are here to determine why it has taken the VA nearly 10 years to conduct the congressionally-mandated National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study.

Our first President, George Washington, once said, "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country."

Our brave men and women sacrificed their lives and well-being to fight on behalf of our country in Vietnam.  Since they have returned home, this country has been nothing short of ungrateful.  We must do more for these veterans, starting with ensuring passage of Chairman Filner’s Agent Orange Equity Act.  We must honor their service to our country by extending the presumption of service-connection for diseases associated with herbicide exposure to all veterans who served in Vietnam, whether they had a “foot on land” experience or not.  These veterans deserve the best medical care this grateful nation can provide.  I look forward to hearing from the VA today that they are ready to justly compensate these deserving veterans.

I also look forward to getting some answers today from the VA about why they have been so resistant to conducting a study of the long-term lifetime psychological and physical health impacts of the Vietnam War on the veterans of that era.  Too often, we see the VA acting against the best interests of our veterans.  As members of this esteemed committee, we must remain vigilant in ensuring that the VA is acting as our veterans’ advocate, not our veterans’ adversary. 

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.