VA To Create Benefits for Some Childhood Leukemia Victims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hours after receiving a study that linked Agent Orange to a deadly form of childhood leukemia, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to begin setting up benefits for these children.

“The medical evidence is clear and persuasive that these illnesses are associated with the service of our men and women during the Vietnam War,” said Principi. “Equally clear is VA’s responsibility to provide benefits and programs that meet the needs of these veterans and their families.”

Principi’s decision affects the children of Vietnam veterans with acute myelogenous leukemia, a rare, deadly form of the childhood disease. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report April 19 that cited “limited or suggestive” evidence that a parent’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War may lead to a child contracting the disease. About 500 to 1,000 children of Vietnam veterans are believed to have the disease.

Since VA has no legal authority to provide benefits for these children, Principi said he has obtained White House approval to ask Congress for legislation to create special benefits. VA officials are determining what those benefits should be.

In 1997, VA set up a program for the children of Vietnam veterans with spina bifida. That program provides health-care benefits, vocational training and a monthly allowance based upon the severity of the illness. About 940 people with spina bifida are now receiving these VA benefits.