Court: VA Must Pay Agent Orange Victims

[douglas9]

Source: Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- An appeals court chastised the Department of Veterans Affairs on Thursday and ordered the agency to pay retroactive benefits to Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and contracted a form of leukemia.

"The performance of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has contributed substantially to our sense of national shame," the opinion from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals read.

It was not immediately known how much the department would have to pay under the order or how many veterans would be affected.

VA spokesman Phil Budahn said late Thursday that officials were reviewing the ruling, and declined further comment.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VETERANS_AGENT_ORANGE?SITE=PAYOK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Mojorabbit]

1. bout damn time eom

[Demeter]

2. Pretty Hard to Pay the Dead

this should be a neat trick.

[Massachusetts]

3. History always repeats.

"The performance of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has contributed substantially to our sense of national shame,"

"Pentagon extends Iraq tours for 2,200 Marines"

"Four U.S. soldiers killed in Baghdad bomb: military
Thu Jul 19, 2007 1:49AM EDT"


Blah, blah, blah. Our Government is broken!

[PaulaFarrell]

4. are they planning to pay vietnamese victims any time soon? n/t