summary
Introduced
01/05/2017
01/05/2017
In Committee
06/28/2018
06/28/2018
Crossed Over
06/26/2018
06/26/2018
Passed
Dead
12/31/2018
12/31/2018
Introduced Session
115th Congress
Bill Summary
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2017 This bill extends the presumption of service connection for certain diseases associated with herbicide exposure to veterans who served: (1) in the territorial seas of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, or (2) in or near the Korean demilitarized zone between September 1, 1967, and August 31, 1971. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific disabilities diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded. The bill extends eligibility for health care, vocational training and rehabilitation, and monetary allowance to children with spina bifida who have at least one veteran parent who may have been exposed to an herbicide agent while serving in Thailand between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. The bill revises the VA's home loan guaranty program to adjust loan fee rates and eliminate the limit on guaranty amount that is based on the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) conforming loan limit. The VA shall permit a VA-approved appraiser to make a housing loan appraisal based solely on information gathered by a person with whom the appraiser has entered into an agreement for such services.
AI Summary
This bill:
- Extends the presumption of service connection for certain diseases associated with herbicide exposure to veterans who served in the territorial seas of Vietnam between January 1962 and May 1975, or in or near the Korean demilitarized zone between September 1967 and August 1971. This means these veterans do not have to prove their illness is directly related to their military service to receive disability benefits.
- Provides benefits, including health care and monetary allowance, to children of veterans who served in Thailand between January 1962 and May 1975 and were exposed to herbicides, if the children were born with spina bifida.
- Revises the VA home loan program to adjust loan fee rates and eliminate the limit on the guaranty amount based on the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) conforming loan limit. It also allows VA-approved appraisers to use information gathered by others for their appraisals.
The goal of the bill is to expand benefits and presumptions of service connection for certain veterans and their children exposed to herbicides during the Vietnam War era, and to make some changes to improve the VA home loan program.
Committee Categories
Health and Social Services, Military Affairs and Security
Sponsors (330)
David Valadao (R)*,
Alma Adams (D),
Robert Aderholt (R),
Pete Aguilar (D),
Justin Amash (LIB),
Mark Amodei (R),
Brian Babin (R),
Don Bacon (R),
Lou Barletta (R),
Nanette Barragán (D),
Karen Bass (D),
Joyce Beatty (D),
Jack Bergman (R),
Don Beyer (D),
Gus Bilirakis (R),
Mike Bishop (R),
Sanford Bishop (D),
Diane Black (R),
Rod Blum (R),
Earl Blumenauer (D),
Lisa Blunt Rochester (D),
Suzanne Bonamici (D),
Madeleine Bordallo (D),
Brendan Boyle (D),
Robert Brady (D),
Dave Brat (R),
Jim Bridenstine (R),
Susan Brooks (R),
Anthony Brown (D),
Julia Brownley (D),
Vern Buchanan (R),
Cheri Bustos (D),
G. Butterfield (D),
Bradley Byrne (R),
Ken Calvert (R),
Michael Capuano (D),
Salud Carbajal (D),
Tony Cárdenas (D),
André Carson (D),
Buddy Carter (R),
John Carter (R),
Matt Cartwright (D),
Kathy Castor (D),
Joaquin Castro (D),
Judy Chu (D),
David Cicilline (D),
Katherine Clark (D),
Yvette Clarke (D),
Steve Cohen (D),
Tom Cole (R),
Chris Collins (R),
Barbara Comstock (R),
Gerry Connolly (D),
John Conyers (D),
Paul Cook (R),
Lou Correa (D),
Jim Costa (D),
Ryan Costello (R),
Joe Courtney (D),
Kevin Cramer (R),
Rick Crawford (R),
Charlie Crist (D),
Joseph Crowley (WFP),
Elijah Cummings (D),
Carlos Curbelo (R),
Rodney Davis (R),
Susan Davis (D),
Peter DeFazio (D),
Diana DeGette (D),
John Delaney (D),
Rosa DeLauro (D),
Suzan DelBene (D),
Val Demings (D),
Jeff Denham (R),
Charles Dent (R),
Ron DeSantis (R),
Mark DeSaulnier (D),
Theodore Deutch (D),
Debbie Dingell (D),
Daniel Donovan (R),
Michael Doyle (D),
Sean Duffy (R),
Jeff Duncan (R),
Neal Dunn (R),
Keith Ellison (D),
Eliot Engel (D),
Anna Eshoo (D),
Adriano Espaillat (D),
Ron Estes (R),
Elizabeth Esty (D),
Dwight Evans (D),
Blake Farenthold (R),
John Faso (R),
Brian Fitzpatrick (R),
Jeff Fortenberry (R),
Bill Foster (D),
Lois Frankel (D),
Rodney Frelinghuysen (R),
Marcia Fudge (D),
Tulsi Gabbard (D),
Matt Gaetz (R),
Mike Gallagher (R),
Ruben Gallego (D),
John Garamendi (D),
Tom Garrett (R),
Bob Gibbs (R),
Louie Gohmert (R),
Vicente Gonzalez (D),
Jenniffer González (R),
Bob Goodlatte (R),
Paul Gosar (R),
Josh Gottheimer (D),
Kay Granger (R),
Garret Graves (R),
Sam Graves (R),
Al Green (D),
Gene Green (D),
Morgan Griffith (R),
Raúl Grijalva (D),
Glenn Grothman (R),
Brett Guthrie (R),
Luis Gutiérrez (D),
Colleen Hanabusa (D),
Karen Handel (R),
Gregg Harper (R),
Vicky Hartzler (R),
Alcee Hastings (D),
Denny Heck (D),
Jaime Herrera Beutler (R),
Brian Higgins (D),
French Hill (R),
Jim Himes (D),
Richard Hudson (R),
Bill Huizenga (R),
Randy Hultgren (R),
Darrell Issa (R),
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D),
Hakeem Jeffries (D),
Evan Jenkins (R),
Lynn Jenkins (R),
Bill Johnson (R),
Eddie Johnson (D),
Hank Johnson (D),
Walter Jones (R),
Jim Jordan (R),
Dave Joyce (R),
Marcy Kaptur (D),
John Katko (R),
Bill Keating (D),
Mike Kelly (R),
Robin Kelly (D),
Joseph Kennedy (D),
Ro Khanna (D),
Ruben Kihuen (D),
Dan Kildee (D),
Derek Kilmer (D),
Ron Kind (D),
Peter King (R),
Steve King (R),
Adam Kinzinger (R),
Stephen Knight (R),
Raja Krishnamoorthi (D),
Ann Kuster (D),
Darin LaHood (R),
Doug LaMalfa (R),
Leonard Lance (R),
James Langevin (D),
Rick Larsen (D),
John Larson (D),
Bob Latta (R),
Al Lawson (D),
John Lewis (D),
Ted Lieu (D),
Daniel Lipinski (D),
Frank LoBiondo (R),
David Loebsack (D),
Zoe Lofgren (D),
Mia Love (R),
Alan Lowenthal (D),
Nita Lowey (D),
Frank Lucas (R),
Ben Ray Luján (D),
Michelle Lujan Grisham (D),
Stephen Lynch (D),
Thomas MacArthur (R),
Carolyn Maloney (D),
Sean Maloney (D),
Tom Marino (R),
Roger Marshall (R),
Thomas Massie (R),
Brian Mast (R),
Doris Matsui (D),
Michael McCaul (R),
Tom McClintock (R),
Betty McCollum (D),
Donald McEachin (D),
Jim McGovern (D),
David McKinley (R),
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R),
Martha McSally (R),
Patrick Meehan (R),
Gregory Meeks (D),
Grace Meng (D),
Luke Messer (R),
Alex Mooney (R),
Gwen Moore (D),
Seth Moulton (D),
Markwayne Mullin (R),
Stephanie Murphy (D),
Tim Murphy (R),
Grace Napolitano (D),
Richard Neal (D),
Dan Newhouse (R),
Kristi Noem (R),
Richard Nolan (D),
Donald Norcross (D),
Ralph Norman (R),
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D),
Devin Nunes (R),
Tom O'Halleran (D),
Beto O'Rourke (D),
Pete Olson (R),
Steven Palazzo (R),
Frank Pallone (D),
Jimmy Panetta (D),
Bill Pascrell (D),
Erik Paulsen (R),
Donald Payne (D),
Ed Perlmutter (D),
Scott Perry (R),
Scott Peters (D),
Collin Peterson (D),
Chellie Pingree (D),
Mark Pocan (D),
Ted Poe (R),
Bruce Poliquin (R),
Jared Polis (D),
Bill Posey (R),
David Price (D),
Mike Quigley (D),
Amata Radewagen (R),
Jamie Raskin (D),
Tom Reed (R),
David Reichert (R),
James Renacci (R),
Kathleen Rice (D),
Tom Rice (R),
Cedric Richmond (D),
Martha Roby (R),
Hal Rogers (R),
Dana Rohrabacher (R),
Thomas Rooney (R),
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R),
Jacky Rosen (D),
Peter Roskam (R),
Dennis Ross (R),
Keith Rothfus (R),
David Rouzer (R),
Lucille Roybal-Allard (D),
Raul Ruiz (D),
Dutch Ruppersberger (D),
Bobby Rush (D),
John Rutherford (R),
Tim Ryan (D),
Kilili Sablan (D),
Linda Sánchez (D),
John Sarbanes (D),
Jan Schakowsky (D),
Adam Schiff (D),
Brad Schneider (D),
Kurt Schrader (D),
Bobby Scott (D),
David Scott (D),
F. James Sensenbrenner (R),
José Serrano (D),
Pete Sessions (R),
Terri Sewell (D),
Carol Shea-Porter (D),
Brad Sherman (D),
Bill Shuster (R),
Mike Simpson (R),
Kyrsten Sinema (I),
Albio Sires (D),
Louise Slaughter (D),
Adam Smith (D),
Chris Smith (R),
Jason Smith (R),
Lloyd Smucker (R),
Darren Soto (D),
Jackie Speier (D),
Elise Stefanik (R),
Chris Stewart (R),
Steve Stivers (R),
Tom Suozzi (D),
Eric Swalwell (D),
Mark Takano (D),
Scott Taylor (R),
Claudia Tenney (R),
G.T. Thompson (R),
Mike Thompson (D),
Patrick Tiberi (R),
Scott Tipton (R),
Dina Titus (D),
Paul Tonko (D),
Norma Torres (D),
Niki Tsongas (D),
Mike Turner (R),
Fred Upton (R),
Juan Vargas (D),
Marc Veasey (D),
Filemón Vela (D),
Nydia Velázquez (D),
Tim Walberg (R),
Greg Walden (R),
Jackie Walorski (R),
Timothy Walz (D),
Maxine Waters (D),
Bonnie Watson Coleman (D),
Randy Weber (R),
Daniel Webster (R),
Peter Welch (D),
Bruce Westerman (R),
Roger Williams (R),
Rob Wittman (R),
John Yarmuth (D),
Kevin Yoder (R),
Ted Yoho (R),
David Young (R),
Don Young (R),
Lee Zeldin (R),
Last Action
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. (on 08/01/2018)
Official Document
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