Lawmakers question whether VA can process blue water claims in time

WASHINGTON — “Blue water” Vietnam veterans have to wait until next year before the Department of Veterans Affairs will start processing Agent Orange disability claims, but lawmakers are skeptical the VA will be ready.

“Between now and January, the VA has a lot of work to do,” Rep. Mike Bost, R, Ill., ranking member on the House subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, said Wednesday at a hearing on blue water claims.

The Blue Water Navy Act of 2019 was signed into law in June and is set to go into effect Jan, 1 2020. The law says that veterans aboard American vessels offshore in Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange and might be entitled to disability benefits.

A key issue at the hearing was logistics, most notably involving a tool the VA is creating to catalog ship logs to prove veterans were in certain locations. Some lawmakers are skeptical of how accurate the verification could be, and it isn’t ready for veterans advocates or lawmakers to see. If further verification is required, it can be a tall order for veterans to prove where they were deployed.

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