Agent Orange Act of 1991

Agent Orange Act of 1991
Long title	An Act to provide for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to obtain independent scientific review of the available scientific evidence regarding associations between diseases and exposure to dioxin and other chemical compounds in herbicides, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)	AOA
Nicknames	Agent Orange bill
Enacted by	the 102nd United States Congress
Effective	February 6, 1991
Citations
Public law	102-4
Statutes at Large	105 Stat. 11
Codification
Titles amended	38 U.S.C.: Veterans' Benefits
U.S.C. sections created	38 U.S.C. § 1116
U.S.C. sections amended	38 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.; 38 U.S.C. § 241; 38 U.S.C. § 1154;
Legislative history
	Introduced in the House as H.R. 556 by Gillespie V. Montgomery (D–MS) on January 17, 1991; Committee consideration by House Veterans' Affairs; Passed the House on January 29, 1991 (412-0 Roll call vote 016, via Clerk.House.gov); Passed the Senate on January 30, 1991 (99-0 Roll call vote 9, via Senate.gov, in lieu of S. 238); Signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on February 6, 1991;

Agent Orange Act of 1991 establishes provisions for the National Academy of Sciences to analyze and summarize scientific evidence regarding presumptive military service exposure to defoliants, dioxins and herbicides, better known as Agent Orange, during the Vietnam War era. The United States Statute endorses an observation of human medical conditions directly related to non-Hodgkin lymphoma, soft-tissue sarcoma, chloracne, and consistent acneform diseases for military personnel who served in the overseas Vietnamese region. The Act of Congress ratifies a medical research compilation of voluntarily contributed blood and tissue samples provided by Vietnam-era veterans serving in Southeast Asia between 1961 and 1975.

The H.R. 556 legislation was passed by the 102nd United States Congressional session and enacted into law by the 41st President of the United States George H.W. Bush on February 6, 1991.[1][2]

History

Agent Orange Study

On December 6, 1979, the 96th United States Congress passed the Veterans Health Programs Extension and Improvement Act of 1979 which was enacted into law by United States President Jimmy Carter on December 20, 1979.[3] House Bill 3892 endorsed the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct an epidemiological study concerning human exposure and the adverse health effects of dioxins and phenoxy herbicides.[4] The persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances protocol was subject to approval by the Office of Technology Assessment as stated in the provisions of the H.R. 3892 legislation.

The 96th United States Senate passed bill S. 2096 sanctioning the Agent Orange study to be conducted by the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.[5] On January 2, 1980, President Jimmy Carter vetoed the Senate bill due to the repetitive purpose of the Section 307a1 provisions as stated in House bill 3892.[6]

Title 38 Amendments and Associated Statutes

U.S. Congressional amendments to Title 38 regarding veterans' military benefits.

Date of Enactment	Public Law Number	U.S. Statute Citation	U.S. Legislative Bill	U.S. Presidential Administration
November 3, 1981	P.L. 97-72	95 Stat. 1047	H.R. 3499	Ronald Reagan
October 24, 1984	P.L. 98-542	98 Stat. 2725	H.R. 1961	Ronald Reagan
December 6, 1989	P.L. 101-201	103 Stat. 1795	S. 892	George H.W. Bush
December 18, 1989	P.L. 101-237	103 Stat. 2062	H.R. 901	George H.W. Bush
November 2, 1994	P.L. 103-452	108 Stat. 4783	H.R. 3313	William J. Clinton

References

Bush, George H.W. (February 6, 1991). "Statement on Signing the Agent Orange Act of 1991 - February 6, 1991". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 114–115.
Bush, George H.W. (February 6, 1991). "Remarks on Signing the Veterans' Compensation Amendments of 1991 and the Agent Orange Act of 1991 - February 6, 1991". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 112–113.
"Veterans Health Programs Extension and Improvement Act of 1979 ~ P.L. 96-151" (PDF). 93 Stat. 1092 ~ House Bill 3892. U.S. Government Printing Office. December 20, 1979.
"H.R. 3892 ~ Veterans Health Programs Extension and Improvement Act of 1979". P.L. 96-151 ~ 93 Stat. 1092. Congress.gov. May 2, 1979.
"S. 2096 ~ Agent Orange Study of 1979". Congress.gov. December 20, 1979.
Carter, Jimmy E. (January 2, 1980). "Veto of Legislation Requiring a Study of Health Effects of Dioxin Exposure: Message to the Senate Returning S. 2096 Without Approval - January 2, 1980". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 4–5.

Periodical Bibliography

"On the Agent Orange Trail". New York Times. July 5, 1979.
"Traces of a Toxic Chemical Found in Vietnam Veterans". New York Times. December 13, 1979.
"AGENT ORANGE STUDY WON'T BE COMPLETED UNTIL '89, V.A. SAYS". New York Times. September 1, 1982.
Severo, Richard (September 16, 1982). "V.A. ASSAILED ON DELAYING AGENT ORANGE STUDY". New York Times.
Lyons, Richard D. (September 25, 1984). "U.S. EMBARKS ON $100 MILLION STUDY OF AGENT ORANGE". New York Times.
Clymer, Adam (January 31, 1991). "Bill Passed to Aid Veterans Affected by Agent Orange". New York Times.
Haberman, Clyde (May 11, 2014). "Agent Orange's Long Legacy, for Vietnam and Veterans". New York Times.

External links

"Veterans: Use of Agent Orange in Vietnam" (PDF). U.S. GAO ~ CED-78-158. U.S. Government Accountability Office. August 16, 1978.
"Veterans: Agent Orange" (PDF). U.S. GAO ~ 111614. U.S. Government Accountability Office. February 21, 1980.
Bush, George H.W. (May 13, 1991). "Statement on Chemical Weapons - May 13, 1991". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. p. 503.
"Agent Orange: Persisting Problems With Communication of Ranch Hand Study Data and Results" (PDF). U.S. GAO ~ T-NSIAD-00-117. U.S. Government Accountability Office. March 15, 2000.
"Public Health - Agent Orange". Military Exposures ~ Agent Orange. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Dark Shadow of Agent Orange on YouTube

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[1] Bush, George H.W. (February 6, 1991). "Statement on Signing the Agent Orange Act of 1991 - February 6, 1991". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 114–115.

[2] Bush, George H.W. (February 6, 1991). "Remarks on Signing the Veterans' Compensation Amendments of 1991 and the Agent Orange Act of 1991 - February 6, 1991". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 112–113.

[3] "Veterans Health Programs Extension and Improvement Act of 1979 ~ P.L. 96-151" (PDF). 93 Stat. 1092 ~ House Bill 3892. U.S. Government Printing Office. December 20, 1979.

[4] "H.R. 3892 ~ Veterans Health Programs Extension and Improvement Act of 1979". P.L. 96-151 ~ 93 Stat. 1092. Congress.gov. May 2, 1979.

[5] "S. 2096 ~ Agent Orange Study of 1979". Congress.gov. December 20, 1979.

[6] Carter, Jimmy E. (January 2, 1980). "Veto of Legislation Requiring a Study of Health Effects of Dioxin Exposure: Message to the Senate Returning S. 2096 Without Approval - January 2, 1980". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 4–5.