# Plain Language Summary: Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2021

This bill addresses the long-term health damage caused by Agent Orange, a toxic chemical sprayed extensively during the Vietnam War. Between 1961 and 1971, the U.S. military sprayed approximately 19 million gallons of various herbicides—mostly Agent Orange—over southern Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The chemicals contained dangerous toxins like dioxin and arsenic that caused serious health problems for millions of people exposed to them, and the damage continues today. Over 50 years later, contaminated soil and water in Vietnam still poison local residents and their food supply, and people who were exposed continue to suffer from diseases, birth defects, and disabilities that are being passed down to their children and grandchildren.

The bill directs the U.S. State Department to provide direct assistance to Vietnamese people affected by Agent Orange exposure, including medical care, nursing services, job training, home repairs, and financial assistance to reduce poverty. It also requires the government to clean up the most contaminated areas in Vietnam, particularly old military bases where Agent Orange was stored and handled. Additionally, the bill expands benefits for American veterans' children born with birth defects related to Agent Orange exposure—currently, only children of female veterans receive comprehensive benefits, while children of male veterans are largely excluded. This bill would extend the same protections to children of male veterans who have similar health conditions.

The bill also creates new programs to help Vietnamese Americans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange or whose parents were exposed. The Department of Health and Human Services would establish health assessment centers in areas with large Vietnamese American populations to screen for Agent Orange-related illnesses and provide treatment. The government would also fund research to better understand how Agent Orange exposure affects people across multiple generations. All three departments involved—State, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services—must develop implementation plans within six months and begin providing assistance within 18 months.

Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2021

Lee, Barbara

Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide assistance to people in Vietnam in relation to Agent Orange exposure. Specifically, the State Department must provide assistance (1) to address the health care needs of certain residents of Vietnam affected by Agent Orange exposure, (2) to institutions in Vietnam that provide health care to such individuals, (3) to improve housing and reduce poverty for specified individuals and their families, and (4) to remediate areas of Vietnam that contain high levels of Agent Orange. HHS must (1) make grants to public health organizations and Vietnamese American organizations to conduct a broad health assessment of Vietnamese Americans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange and their descendants; and (2) establish centers in U.S. locations where large populations of Vietnamese Americans reside to provide assessment, counseling, and treatment for conditions related to Agent Orange exposure. Under the bill, certain benefits will be made available to the children of male Vietnam veterans who are affected by certain birth defects. Currently, these benefits are only available to the children of women Vietnam veterans. The VA shall require any health care provider with whom the VA enters into a contract for the provision of health care to such children to provide the VA access to their medical records for research into the intergenerational effects of Agent Orange exposure.