Statement of Administration Policy: H.R..1565 — Extension of Health Care to Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange and Ionizing Radiation

(House)
(Hutchinson (R) AR and 14 cosponsors)

The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 1565 because it would continue priority health care services to certain veterans exposed to dioxin and ionizing radiation. The Administration, however, will work with the Senate to delete a provision in section 1 that would authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to determine diseases, in addition to those identified by the National Academy of Sciences, for which a veteran exposed to dioxin would be eligible for care. Such a provision would shift the responsibility for identifying such diseases from the medical science arena, where it belongs.