JULY 2019
 

VA Puts Hold on All Blue Water Veteran Claims Until Law Takes Effect

The Department of Veterans Affairs has placed a hold on all claims from Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans until the recently passed law, signed by the President, takes effect on January 1, 2020. Claims from this group are under a temporary stay until the VA feels they have operational authority to act once the law takes effect. However, we believe the Procopio ruling earlier this year, which we have …

JUNE 2019
 

Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veteran Act Becomes Law

Last Tuesday, June 25th, the President of the United States signed H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, into law. To all of you who took action and messaged your legislators, attended our webinar and told your friends and family about this issue; thank you, this victory is yours.

The law, which takes effect January 1, 2020, will extend disability benefits to veterans who served between Jan. 9, 1962, …

MAY 2019
 

Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 Passes the House

On Monday, May 14th, the House voted 410-0 to pass H. R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019. The bill, which we have previously discussed in detail, but this legislation is significant in that it will restore the presumption of exposure to the chemicals known as Agent Orange for thousands of Blue Water Navy veterans who served during the Vietnam War.

The Act must now be …

APRIL 2019
 

Keeping Our Promises Act Would Provide Benefits for More Agent Orange Diseases

A group of lawmakers introduced legislation that would add nine more diseases to a list of conditions presumed to be caused by the chemical herbicide Agent Orange, giving veterans who suffer from them a fast-track to Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation and health care.

The Keeping Our Promises Act, H.R. 2200 introduced April 10th, adds prostate cancer, bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, hypertension, stroke, early-onset peripheral neuropathy, AL amyoloidosis, ischemic …

MARCH 2019
 

DoD Seeking the Help of Myeloma Patients for FY19 – Become a Consumer Reviewer!

We are yet again seeking volunteers to help us advance myeloma research! The Advocacy Team lobbied Congress to include blood cancers as a topic area in the DoD’s FY19 Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). Because of these efforts, myeloma researchers are now able to apply for research funding grants through the program, but we need your help! With this inclusion, the IMF has a unique opportunity to …

FEBRUARY 2019
 

Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Handed Court Victory

On Tuesday, January 29th the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. decided a case that restores a presumption of exposure to the chemicals collectively known as Agent Orange for veterans who served off the coast of Vietnam during the war. The case, Procopio v. Wilkie, reverses the courts own ruling from 2006 in Haas v. Peake that erroneously excluded Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans from the Agent Orange Act …

JANUARY 2019
 

Government Shutdown Won’t Affect VA Care

With the ongoing government shutdown, we thought it prudent to remind readers that this lapse in funding will not affect the care received from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Thanks to foresight and understanding from Congress that necessary care for veterans should never be held hostage in a budget negotiation, the VA is funded through what is known as an advanced appropriations process, meaning the VA receives its money a full year ahead of other departments …

(Sen. Inhofe w/ military personnel)

Enhancing Veteran Care Act Change on the Horizon

On December 6th, the House unanimously passed S. 1266, The Enhancing Veteran Care Act a month after the bill was passed in the Senate and nearly a year after introduction by Senators James Inhofe (R-OK) and James Lankford (R-OK). The legislation will give the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) more flexibility in working with third-parties, such as non-profits, to study, investigate and assess issues within the VA medical system.

According …

Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program to Continue

As the House and Senate conferenced to pass the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) a small but important program known as the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) found itself on the brink of effective elimination for the second year in a row. Language was included in the Senate version of the bill, specifically, Sections 733, 891, 892, and 893, that would have individually and collectively restricted, if not outright prohibited, CDMRP research …