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VFW CALLS ADMINISTRATION PLAN TO COMPENSATE ATOMIC WORKERS WHILE EXCLUDING
ATOMIC VETERANS AN INSULT
Washington, D.C., Apr. 13, 2000-An Administration plan to compensate some
3,000 workers who became ill after working at former nuclear bomb plants
drew sharp criticism today from the 1.9-million member Veterans of Foreign
Wars.
VFW Commander in Chief John W. Smart, said, "It is an insult that after
years of trying to get compensation for thousands of veterans exposed to
ionizing radiation, they are ignored in this program to take care of
government workers. The VFW is sensitive to the plight of these defense
workers but it is totally insensitive of the Administration to exclude
veterans suffering from the same illnesses associated with radiation
exposure."
The VFW, at its National Convention last August, called on Congress to enact
legislation allowing veterans exposed to atomic radiation during their
service and diagnosed with certain cancers to receive compensation and
health care benefits. The VFW has long supported the efforts of those
veterans to obtain a statutory ruling that a presumption of service
connection be made for exposure to radiation related disabilities.
With a ruling that an injury or disease is service connected paves the way
for a veteran to receive compensation and benefits. According to VFW
officials, the VA almost always denies veterans claims for service
connection associated with radiation exposure. To date, with 18,000 claims
being filed with VA based on radiation exposure under certain regulations,
only 50 have been approved for compensation.
The Administration plan is expected to cost $520 million. A lump sum payment
of $100,000 would be paid to workers or their survivors. The Energy
Department estimates the cost of the program will be $120 million annually
for the first three years, dropping to $80 million a year as the backlog of
claims is reduced.
Copyright ©1996,1997,1998; Veterans of Foreign Wars of United States.
All Rights Reserved.
Last Modified: Friday, 07-Aug-98 17:02:06 CDT
From: The American Legion
and The Disabled American Veterans
To: Washington D.C.
Subject: Atomic Veterans.
Subject: [du-list] Re: [DOEWatch]
President Must Address Veterans' Side of Nuclear Nightmare
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2000
Source:
U.S. Newswire 18 Apr, 2000
President Must Address Veteran's Side of Nuclear Nightmare
To: National Desk, Military Reporter
Contact: Steve Thomas, 202-263-2982
or Joe March, 317-630-1253
both of The American Legion
WASHINGTON, April 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following statement by
Al Lance, national commander of the American Legion, was released
today by the American Legion:
President Clinton says he wants to "right the wrongs of the past"
committed against factory workers who built America's nuclear
arsenal. To each civilian bomb maker suffering from cancers related
to radioactive exposure, the administration offers either a lump sum
payment of $100,000 or a medical treatment and job retraining
package.
If medical records are lost, the sick worker gets compensated. If
there is uncertainty about the origin of the cancer, the sick worker
gets the benefit of the doubt.
The government should have taken this approach years ago, with
respect to "atomic veterans" deliberately exposed to ionizing
radiation in nuclear tests conducted in the 1940s, '50s and '60s.
"Atomic veterans" wore badges that recorded their exposures so that
the government could determine the impact of radiation on the human
body. They fought two wars: one for freedom; the other for treatment
and compensation from the U.S. government, which for years denied a
relationship between these veterans' cancers and their radiation
exposure. As long as the government denied the illnesses were
service-connected, the government did not have to provide health care
and benefits to the sick veterans, thus prolonging agony and
hastening death.
The American Legion fought alongside these veterans and
successfully represented a major claimant. Orville E. Kelly in 1979
was awarded disability compensation by the VA for his
radiation-linked cancer, a landmark case that set the stage for the
awarding of benefits to thousands of "atomic veterans."
The American Legion also fought hard to persuade the government to
provide health care and compensation for "atomic veterans" suffering
from numerous cancers, including: thyroid, breast, lung, bone, liver,
skin, esophageal, stomach, colon, ovarian, rectal, prostate,
pancreatic, kidney, urinary bladder, salivary gland, multiple
myeloma, posterior subcapsular cataracts, non-malignant thyroid
nodular disease, parathyroid adenoma, tumors of the brain and central
nervous system, and lymphomas other than Hodgkin's disease.
However, many sick veterans do not get the benefit of the doubt
that their conditions are service-connected and therefore rely on
American Legion service officers to help them travel an arduous road
to compensation. Some sick veterans are awarded health care and
benefits. Some are not.
Many veterans whose claims slipped through the government's
cavernous cracks are now frail, elderly, and overwhelmed as much by
betrayal as illness. Further, there are conditions that Congress has
yet to make compensable for health care and benefits from the
Department of Veterans Affairs, including chronic lymphatic
(lymphocytic) leukemia.
A White House panel poured over scientific studies of accelerated
cancer rates among civilian nuclear bomb makers. The case for
compensating civilian nuclear workers was compelling; no less
compelling than the recent cancer figures on patriots who in their
young adulthood followed orders and paid the price.
An Institute of Medicine study released in October found a 50
percent higher leukemia-death rate among land-based military
personnel in the Nevada desert who participated in atomic
experiments, compared to land-based troops who did not. Death rates
for prostate and nasal cancers were upwards of 20 percent higher for
atomic-test participants, according to the IOM study.
Science, once again, proved what The American Legion contended for
two generations, unfortunately through decades of government denials:
Ionizing radiation contributed to cancer in certain veterans.
The American Legion, the nation's largest veterans organization,
is a long-standing advocate of compensation and health care for
"atomic veterans." As its national commander, I would stand proudly
with any administration that would announce a new position: That
ailing veterans henceforth exposed to radiation -- in any form --
will receive the benefit of the doubt that their illnesses are
service-connected. They will be provided hassle-free medical care
and just compensation in the Department of Veterans Affairs medical
and benefits systems.
No denial. No compensatory shell games. Just the same treatment
the administration today extends to civilian victims of a nuclear
nightmare. That is what the men and women of The American Legion
want, and that is what our nation's veterans have earned.
Al Lance is national commander of the 2.8-million member American
Legion, the nation's largest veterans organization.
/U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
04/18 16:47
DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS-807 Maine Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. 20024
Phone (202) 554-3501 . Fax (202) 863-0233
News Release Contact:
David E. Autry
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE,
(202)
554-3501
April 12, 2000
Atomic Veterans Ignored by Nuclear Exposure Compensation Plan
WASHINGTON-The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is outraged and appalled
that veterans exposed to ionizing radiation are being ignored by the
federal government which recently announced plans to offer compensation
to thousands of contract workers for illnesses resulting from exposure to
toxic and radioactive substances.
The DAV has urged Congress to enact legislation to make it easier for
veterans exposed to atomic radiation in the seivice to receive disability
benefits and much-needed health care. Only about 500 claims have been
approved by the VA out of more than 18,000 claims filed based on exposure
to ionizing radiation.
The Clinton Administration plan announced today would provide
compensation for illnesses connected to radioactive exposures to contract
workers employed at nuclear weapons facilities over the past 50 years.
The new compensation plan is modeled after existing compensation programs
for federal workers and gives contract workers the right to claim lost
wages and medical and rehabilitation costs for illnesses related to
exposure.
The DAV said the federal government is clearly treating veterans exposed
to ionizing radiation by a different and inequitable standard. Thousands
of veterans have been sickened and disabled as a result of exposure to
ionizing radiation, but they are denied compensation by a web of
bureaucracy that effectively eliminates any chance of restoring their
lives.
The Administration’s plan is another example of how veterans are
callously and inequitably treated by the federal government. “Veterans
exposed to ionizing radiation suffer debilitating illnesses and
disabilities but are treated as second-class citizens by the federal
government,” said DAV National Commander Michael E. Dobmeier. “These
veterans deserve no less than equal treatment. It is time for Congress
and the Administration to reduce the bureaucracy and time-consuming
claims process for these veterans so they may receive just and adequate
compensation for their disabilities.
The Disabled American Veterans, which represents 2.3 million disabled
veterans, is a non-profit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by
the U.S. Congress in 1932. It is dedicated to one, single parpose:
building better lives for our nation’s disabled veterans and their
families.