VA Delays New Presumptive Conditions Related to Agent Orange Exposure: Last Monday, VA sent a report to the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs detailing VA’s concern with the scientific evidence behind the link between bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, parkinsonism, and hypertension and exposure to Agent Orange. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie stated that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine did not identify any “definitive causal links” between Agent Orange and the diseases. VA is now waiting on the results of its own study. “The National Academy of Medicine has already established an association between Agent Orange exposure and these four diseases,” said VFW National Legislative Service Associate Director Matthew Doyle. “There is no reason to wait for the results of a new study and delay providing care and benefits to veterans in need.” For more information, contact Sandra at the Veterans Service Office at 602 Strong Ave on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 3pm, or call 365-3612.
Sandra G. Van Zant, Veterans County Service Officer
