U.S. veterans who were exposed to toxic chemicals decades ago in the Pacific are one step closer to getting access to funding to cover their medical care.

The U.S. House passed a bill last week that would make it much easier for veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange on Guam and American Samoa, and radiation from nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, to qualify for disability compensation. The measure goes next to the Senate.

U.S. Rep. Mark Takano of California introduced the measure, which has 100 co-sponsors including Reps. Michael San Nicolas of Guam and Gregorio Sablan of the Northern Mariana Islands. The bill incorporates the text of a separate measure introduced by San Nicolas that aimed to provide health care for Guam veterans sickened by Agent Orange.

Takano’s bill is a broad effort to help veterans who were exposed to toxic substances worldwide, including those who got sick from burn pits in the Middle East and those who helped with radiation cleanup in Spain.

Toxic Exposure

Reps. Ed Case and Kai Kahele of Hawaii voted yes on the measure, although neither was a co-sponsor.

The bill has received a lot of attention for helping veterans sickened by burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it also would aid thousands of veterans seeking help for decades-old toxic exposure dating back to the 1940s.

“H.R. 3967 recognizes toxic exposure as a cost of war and not only restores veterans’ trust in (the Department of Veterans Affairs), but also reassures future generations that should they answer the call to serve, VA will always be there to care for them,” according to a report by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Veterans who served in Enewetak, Guam, Johnston Island and American Samoa have been trying for years to get recognition that their illnesses are tied to toxic exposure during their time in the Pacific.

Brian Moyer, who served in the Marine Corps on Guam between 1974 and 1976, runs Agent Orange Survivors of Guam, a group of veterans who have been engaged in years of advocacy to raise awareness of their toxic exposure and need for help.

At age 66, he has peripheral neuropathy, a condition caused by nerve damage that affects both his hands and feet, among other health issues. It wasn’t until 2016 that he spoke with other veterans who remembered spraying Agent Orange on Guam to manage the tropical jungle vegetation and realized that his condition might be linked to the herbicide.

Moyer applied to have his health issues covered by Veterans Affairs in 2017, but the VA denied his case. He appealed and believes it’s inevitable that he will win his case, even if he doesn’t live to see it.

“I’ll either win from the grave or I’m going to win while I’m still alive,” he said confidently.

Uncertain Future

The House passed the bill 256-174 on Thursday with the support of every Democrat and a handful of Republicans, but it still must be approved by the Senate and signed by the president to become law.

That may not be likely. Stars and Stripes reported that the bill would cost hundreds of billions of dollars to fulfill — $208 billion in the first decade and $110 billion in the second decade of implementation. A separate Senate bill to help veterans is much narrower and would only cost $1 billion, according to the newspaper.

One reason why the House bill is so expensive is that it would make it easier for thousands of veterans to get disability compensation and medical care covered by the federal government. Currently, veterans like Moyer whose cases are not presumed to be covered by the VA must individually apply for coverage, with mixed results.

In addition to pushing for congressional action, some veterans have gone to court. Last fall, the Military-Veterans Advocacy group filed a lawsuit against Veterans Affairs to try to get health care coverage for veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange on Guam, American Samoa and Johnston Island.

The lawsuit is pending, said John Wells, an attorney and retired U.S. Navy commander who leads the nonprofit group.

A 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office found that a ship carrying Agent Orange did stop on Guam but didn’t find confirmation that the chemical was offloaded there. The report also noted that records from Guam are “inaccurate and incomplete” and did find evidence that commercial herbicides were applied on Guam, including a chemical component of Agent Orange.

The GAO report also includes testimony from veterans who believe their illnesses were caused by Agent Orange. For Moyer, advocating on this issue for years has included meeting sick veterans who died in the process of pushing for recognition.

The same is happening with veterans who served on Enewetak in the Marshall Islands and were exposed to radiation there from U.S. nuclear testing, according to the House veterans affairs committee report on the bill to extend health care.

“With many of these veterans having already passed, Congress cannot continue to delay benefits that would improve the quality of life for this group of toxic-exposed veterans,” the committee wrote.

Civil Beat’s health coverage is supported by the Atherton Family Foundation, Swayne Family Fund of Hawaii Community Foundation, Cooke Foundation and Papa Ola Lokahi.