STAND. COM. REP. NO 3149

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 84

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 84 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO RESTORE THE PRESUMPTION OF A SERVICE CONNECTION FOR AGENT ORANGE EXPOSURE TO UNITED STATES VETERANS WHO SERVED IN THE WATERS DEFINED BY THE COMBAT ZONE AND IN THE AIRSPACE OVER THE COMBAT ZONE IN VIETNAM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to restore the presumption of a service connection for Agent Orange exposure to United States veterans who served in the water defined by the combat zone and in the airspace over the combat zone in Vietnam.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Advisory Board to the Office of Veterans' Services, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, National Association for Uniformed Services, and seven individuals.

     Your Committee finds that the United States Congress enacted the Agent Orange Act of 1991 (Agent Orange Act) to address the plight of veterans exposed to herbicides while serving in the Republic of Vietnam.  The Agent Orange Act provides Vietnam War veterans with access to disability compensation and medical care, yet the Act does not address all herbicide exposure possibilities and denies the presumption of a service connection for herbicide-related illnesses to Vietnam War veterans who cannot furnish written documentation that they had "boots on the ground".  Agent Orange did not discriminate between soldiers on the ground and sailors on ships offshore.  Personnel who served on ships in the "Blue Water Navy" in Vietnamese territorial waters were also exposed to dangerous airborne toxins.  Your Committee finds that restoring the presumption of a service connection for Agent Orange exposure to all United States veterans who served in the Vietnam War will reaffirm the nation's commitment to the well-being of all of its veterans.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 84 and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair