{"id":60770,"date":"2019-10-30T19:37:10","date_gmt":"2019-10-30T19:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/30\/will-va-be-ready-to-process-new-blue-water-vietnam-veterans-benefits-next-year\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:01:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:01:06","slug":"will-va-be-ready-to-process-new-blue-water-vietnam-veterans-benefits-next-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2019\/10\/30\/will-va-be-ready-to-process-new-blue-water-vietnam-veterans-benefits-next-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Will VA be ready to process new \u2018blue water\u2019 Vietnam veterans benefits next year?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans Affairs officials are confident they\u2019ll be able to start processing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/09\/24\/advocates-demand-white-house-speed-up-timeline-for-blue-water-vietnam-veterans-benefits\/\" target=_blank>\u201cblue water\u201d Vietnam veterans disability claims<\/a> at the start of next year, but also acknowledged a tight timeline ahead for the training and technology work to get the department ready for those cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But House lawmakers expressed concerns that even minor hiccups in that work could mean <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/07\/08\/blue-water-veterans-claims-delayed-until-next-year\/\" target=_blank>significant delays for veterans<\/a> who have already waited decades for their benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese people have waited too long, and we finally have the legislation in place,\u201d said Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., ranking member on the House Veterans\u2019 Affairs committee\u2019s panel on disability assistance. \u201cWe need to get it done.\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\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/09\/24\/advocates-demand-white-house-speed-up-timeline-for-blue-water-vietnam-veterans-benefits\/\" 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=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_0617.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\">Advocates demand White House speed up timeline for \u2018blue water\u2019 Vietnam veterans benefits<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">VA officials say they&#039;ll begin processing cases in January, but critics want that to happen sooner.<\/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\">In June, President Donald Trump signed into law legislation finalizing presumptive benefits status for \u201cblue water\u201d veterans who served on ships off the coast of Vietnam during the war there. Under VA rules, veterans who served on land in the war are presumed to have toxic exposure related to spraying of the defoliant known as Agent Orange during the war, but sailors on ships off the coast of Vietnam were not given the same concession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, with the new law, as many as 90,000 veterans could be eligible for the new presumptive status and thousands of dollars a month in disability benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the legislation allowed VA officials to delay processing those cases until Jan. 1, 2020, even though some cases were already being considered due to a federal court ruling earlier in the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advocates and some lawmakers have complained that the wait has put another unfortunate burden on veterans suffering from Agent Orange exposure for decades. On Wednesday, in an update hearing before the committee, VA Deputy Under Secretary for Field Operations Willie Clark repeated that the delay was needed to get department systems in line for an expected flood of claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the last few days, Veterans Benefits Administration officials have sent out letters to more than 77,000 veterans whose past disability claims connected to Agent Orange exposure have been denied. Those individuals will have to refile with the department next year if they want their cases reconsidered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clark said a ship locator tool to help claims processor verify veterans\u2019 assignments during the war should be finished the first week in December. New training for those processors is scheduled to be finished by December 13. Eight regional processing offices will be assigned with handling the new cases to ensure consistency and efficiency in finishing the claims reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We are on track to begin awarding the benefits on Jan. 1.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawmakers said they are hopeful but wary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va. and chairwoman of the disability assistance panel, questioned whether officials are scanning enough deck logs to ensure a complete look at veterans eligibility. She also echoed concerns from veterans advocates that individuals will have to navigate a confusing array of forms and other paperwork that will further delay benefits processing.<\/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\/06\/05\/90000-blue-water-vietnam-veterans-in-line-for-disability-benefits-after-justice-officials-drop-appeal\/\" 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=\"201\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP_6509120108-1.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\">90,000 \u2018blue water\u2019 Vietnam veterans in line for disability benefits after Justice officials drop appeal<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The move all but ends a years long legal fight over presumptive benefits for up to 90,000 Vietnam veterans.<\/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\">\u201cVeterans feel the burden is always put upon them,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to make this as simple as possible for them instead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other lawmakers voiced concerns that the department for now is not including submarines patrolling the waters, despite evidence sailors aboard would have been susceptible to the same toxic exposures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clark said officials are still troubleshooting those issues. He said benefits officials are committed to working with veterans to help them better understand the process, and prepared to make adjustments as needed. They will also prioritize cases of veterans more than 85 years old, and those facing terminal illnesses or financial hardship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More information on filing for claims is available on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/disability\/eligibility\/hazardous-materials-exposure\/agent-orange\/navy-coast-guard-ships-vietnam\/\" target=_blank>the VA web site. <\/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\">The VFW applauds Congress for passing the Act, correcting a horrible injustice for our vets. We also thank the President for swiftly signing it into law. But we\u2019re only halfway there. Our next goal is to make sure VA delivers timely, accurate benefits to those covered by the Act.<\/p>&mdash; VFW National HQ (@VFWHQ) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/VFWHQ\/status\/1189623495191384068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 30, 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>Lawmakers worry that unforeseen problems to lead to even more delays for infirm, aging veterans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":62582,"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":[101,12,25,67,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3226],"class_list":["post-60770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"LEGNMYGZ2BFN7CBY45END4EQSQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/10\/30\/will-va-be-ready-to-process-new-blue-water-vietnam-veterans-benefits-next-year\/","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>Will VA be ready to process new \u2018blue water\u2019 Vietnam veterans benefits next year? - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lawmakers worry that unforeseen problems to lead to even more delays for infirm, aging 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=\"Will VA be ready to process new \u2018blue water\u2019 Vietnam veterans benefits next year?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lawmakers worry that unforeseen problems to lead to even more delays for infirm, aging veterans.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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