VA rule on Agent Orange, heart disease due soon

[unhappycamper]

VA rule on Agent Orange, heart disease due soon
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Aug 3, 2010 13:11:15 EDT

A new compensation rule for Vietnam veterans with ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and B-cell leukemias should be out within 30 days, based on a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Veterans Affairs Department officials had missed a 90-day deadline set by Congress to publish the compensation rule, saying they had to wait for a review by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

But several veterans advocacy groups argued that the required review was negated in light of the mandatory deadline, and the court agreed.

The ruling is important because a projected 200,000 veterans can’t receive benefits until VA publishes the rule, and because the onslaught of veterans claiming benefits for ischemic heart disease — common among older Americans — is expected to bog down the benefits claims process for everyone. Veterans groups have said VA adjudicators need to begin work on those claims as soon as possible.

Bart Stichman, co-executive director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program, said he does not believe there was any intent to do harm or to save money by holding up the process.