releases: https://courtney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-passed-va-improvement-bill-includes-provision-advance-courtney-0
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://courtney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-passed-va-improvement-bill-includes-provision-advance-courtney-0 | House-Passed VA Improvement Bill Includes Provision to Advance Courtney Effort on Agent Orange Fairness, Now Heads to White House for Signature | 2020-12-16 | 2020 | 2020-12 | Democrat | Senate | CT | Joe Courtney | C001069 | courtney.house.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON, DC Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) and the House of Representatives votedto passH.R. 7105, theVeterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act. The bipartisanbillincludes aprovision thatwillmove the ball forwardandcontribute to aneffortRep. Courtney has worked for years toadvancethrough theAgent Orange Fairness Act(H.R.566)by mandating a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on repealing the onerous manifestation requirementsfrom certain diseases which the VA has linked to Agent Orange exposure.Under current law, veterans must demonstrate that the symptoms of certain diseases developed within just a year of exposure in order to receive the care and compensation they deserve. Rep. Courtney's billwould eliminatethese unfair requirementsandgrantpresumptivebenefits toall servicemembers whocame into contact with this herbicide,andH.R. 7105will help to support that effort through a mandated GAO report.H.R. 7105passed the House today byvoice vote, and will now be sent to the President's desk for signature. Click hereto watch Rep. Courtney's full remarks ahead of today's vote Veterans are required to show that these illnesses manifested themselves within one year of exposure in order to get VA help,said Courtney, ahead of today's vote.Only one problemfifty years ago, when service members were handling this poison, the U.S. government never disclosed how dangerous it was. When it's toxicity was finally recognized decades later, the one-year clock to prove manifestation had long expired. It is the ultimate Catch-22. Section 2011 would not exist but for the tireless work of Vietnam vet Gerry Wright of Andover, Connecticut who has crisscrossed America, rounding up support for abolishing this rule. No lobbyists, no super PACs, just old-fashioned citizen involvement.CongratulationsGerryyou are a true patriot. I urge support of this bill. Rep. Courtneyoriginallyintroduced the Agent Orange Exposure Fairness Act in July 2018 after working with Gerry Wright, a Vietnam veteran from Andover, Connecticut, who has travelled across the country to raise awareness on this issue and has gathered thousands of signatures in support of making changes to these requirements.Most recently, Courtney re-introduced the bill on January 15th, 2019the first bill he introducedto the 116thCongress. The Agent Orange Exposure Fairness Act has gained more bipartisan co-sponsors through each Congress, and has gained support frommajorveterans service organizations (VSOs) across the country. Courtneyhad credited Gerry Wright with much of that success, stating that thebill would not be possible without the tireless efforts of[]Mr. Gerry Wright, who has singlehandedly crisscrossed the country to raise the alarm about untreated Agent Orange cases.Courtney has welcomed support for the Agent Orange Fairness Act from organizations includingtheVietnam Veterans of America,Disabled American Veterans,AMVETS,theFleet Reserve Officers Association, and more. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |