A bill passed by the House on Thursday that would expand benefits for post-9/11 veterans sickened by burn pits and other battlefield pollutants also would affect more than a half-million veterans exposed to Agent Orange.
The $208 billion legislation, which passed the House in a 256-174 vote, faces an uncertain future in the Senate. But it would add hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, or MGUS, to the list of diseases linked to Agent Orange — provisions that would make an estimated 490,000 Vietnam veterans with these illnesses eligible for disability compensation.
It also would update the locations where Vietnam-era veterans served that are covered, adding some areas where former service members said toxic herbicides were sprayed or stored.
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Some of those locations weren't well documented, according to veterans, preventing them from being able to file expedited disability claims.
If the bill became law, the following locations and service dates would be added:
- Thailand at any U.S. or Royal Thai base between Jan. 9, 1962, and June 30, 1976
- Laos between Dec. 1, 1965, and Sept. 30, 1969
- Cambodia at Mimot or Krek, Kampong Cham province, between April 16, 1969, and April 30, 1969
- Guam or American Samoa or their territorial waters between Jan. 9, 1962, and July 31, 1980
- Johnston Atoll or any vessel that called on the atoll…
