1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i VA Begins Adjudicating Claims for New Agent Orange Presumptions Included in NDAA FY2021 August 6, 2021 Background On January 1, 2021, the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021
2、(NDAA FY2021) became law (P.L. 116-283) after the House and Senate voted to override then-President Donald Trumps veto of the bill on December 28, 2020, and January 1, 2021, respectively. Section 9109 of the NDAA FY2021 amended Section 1116(a)(2) of Title 38 of the U.S. Code by adding bladder cancer
3、, hypothyroidism, and Parkinsonism (a term for neurological disorders that cause movement problems similar to that of Parkinsons disease) to the list of presumptive conditions for Vietnam-era veterans exposed to Agent Orange. This brought an end to a multiyear attempt to expand the list of presumpti
4、ons for this specific group of veterans. As background, during the 116th Congress, H.R. 2200, H.R. 5610, and S. 3444 were introduced. These bills sought to statutorily add the aforementioned conditions as presumptions. In addition, H.Res. 729 and S.Res. 420 would have encouraged then-President Trump