{"id":68393,"date":"2019-03-26T15:16:39","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T15:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/26\/va-recommends-dropping-legal-challenge-over-blue-water-navy-veterans-benefits\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:57:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:57:15","slug":"va-recommends-dropping-legal-challenge-over-blue-water-navy-veterans-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2019\/03\/26\/va-recommends-dropping-legal-challenge-over-blue-water-navy-veterans-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"VA recommends dropping legal challenge over \u2018blue water\u2019 Navy veterans benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans Affairs leaders will not recommend appealing a federal court ruling to award disability benefits to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/05\/04\/new-blue-water-veterans-deal-could-mean-benefits-for-90000-vietnam-war-troops\/\" target=_blank>thousands of Vietnam veterans<\/a> who claim exposure to cancer-causing chemical defoliants during ship deployments off that country\u2019s coastline, officials confirmed Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During an appearance before the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2018\/09\/10\/va-steps-up-fight-against-plan-to-extend-benefits-to-blue-water-vietnam-vets\/\" target=_blank>VA Secretary Robert Wilkie<\/a> said he will not ask the Department of Justice to continue to fight the legal issue. Federal officials have until late April to appeal the decision, issued by the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/01\/29\/court-rules-va-must-pay-disability-benefits-to-blue-water-vietnam-veterans\/\" target=_blank> U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit<\/a> in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wilkie emphasized that other federal officials could still offer arguments in favor of filing an appeal. But his recommendation is likely to be an oversized factor in any decision, given the potential impact on his department.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/01\/29\/court-rules-va-must-pay-disability-benefits-to-blue-water-vietnam-veterans\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_70010105491.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Court rules VA must pay disability benefits to \u2018blue water\u2019 Vietnam veterans<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The decision could affect up to 90,000 veterans who have been petitioning VA officials for disability payouts for years.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Letting the decision stand would give advocates for so-called &#8220;blue water\u201d Navy veterans the victory they have been pursuing for more than a decade, arguing that thousands of ailing and aging Vietnam veterans have been unfairly blocked from collecting disability benefits for their on-duty injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under current department rules, the blue water veterans \u2014 an estimated 90,000 individuals \u2014 can receive medical care for their illnesses through VA. But to receive disability benefits worth up to several thousand dollars a month, they must prove that their ailments are directly connected to toxic exposure while on duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s not the case for other Vietnam veterans, who are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange and other defoliants known to cause serious and rare cancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So while a veteran who served on the shoreline can receive disability payouts after contracting Parkinson\u2019s disease or prostate cancer, a veteran who served on a ship a few miles away would have to provide evidence of direct contact with hazardous chemicals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The federal court ruling sided with advocates who said that proof is nearly impossible to obtain now, decades after the toxic exposures occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA officials had said that adopting new \u201cnon-scientific\u201d standards for disability benefits could open a floodgate of new claims. But lawmakers for the past two years have worked on legislation narrowly tailored to the \u201cblue water\u201d Navy veterans issue, and are urging VA to drop it\u2019s opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wilkie\u2019s announcement received immediate praise from several members of the committee. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called the recommendation not to appeal \u201ca chance to bring fairness and justice to our veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2018\/05\/04\/new-blue-water-veterans-deal-could-mean-benefits-for-90000-vietnam-war-troops\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_6509050420.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">New \u2018blue water veterans\u2019 deal could mean benefits for 90,000 Vietnam War troops<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Paying for disability benefits of the Vietnam War veterans would be covered by a new VA home loan fee.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the court decision stands, VA will be faced with a sizable bill in coming years to cover the new disability benefits claims. Congressional Budget Office officials had estimated the new awards could total about $1.1 billion over 10 years, but VA officials said the figure could rise to more than $5 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said lawmakers will have to work closely with VA officials in coming months to address those costs. John Wells, retired Navy commander and the executive director of Military-Veterans Advocacy \u2014 which helped file the lawsuit prompting the January court ruling \u2014 echoed that plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c(Wilkie\u2019s) decision is consistent with what he has told (our group) privately,\u201d he said. \u201cWe thank him for bringing this tragic episode to a close, and look forward to working with him on issues dealing with implementation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mike Little, executive director for the Sea Service Family Foundation and a longtime advocate on the issue, called the announcement a \u201cgreat day\u201d for Vietnam veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVA owes all these vets and apology for the years they spent denying them benefits,\u201d he said. \u201cNot appealing this court decision is the first step. I hope this decision brings peace of mind to those widows left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The full decision \u2014 Procopio vs. Wilkie \u2014 is available <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cafc.uscourts.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/opinions-orders\/17-1821.Opinion.1-29-2019.pdf\" target=_blank>at the appeals court\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is great news for <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/BlueWaterNavy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BlueWaterNavy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/veterans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#veterans<\/a>! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/75pz2ys2nH\">https:\/\/t.co\/75pz2ys2nH<\/a><\/p>&mdash; DAV (Disabled American Veterans) (@DAVHQ) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DAVHQ\/status\/1110546835645575168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 26, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federal officials have until the end of April to formally decide whether to appeal a court ruling which could grant disability benefits to more than 90,000 veterans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":94027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,23,93,12,25,68,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3334],"class_list":["post-68393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"3NONALCR3VBT3IHQA6IPAXRARM","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/03\/26\/va-recommends-dropping-legal-challenge-over-blue-water-navy-veterans-benefits\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>VA recommends dropping legal challenge over \u2018blue water\u2019 Navy veterans benefits - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Federal officials have until the end of April to formally decide whether to appeal a court ruling which could grant disability benefits to more than 90,000 veterans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VA recommends dropping legal challenge over \u2018blue water\u2019 Navy veterans benefits\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Federal officials have until the end of April to formally decide whether to appeal a court ruling which could grant disability benefits to more than 90,000 veterans.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2019\/03\/26\/va-recommends-dropping-legal-challenge-over-blue-water-navy-veterans-benefits\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-26T15:16:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T11:57:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    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