Last progress April 28, 2025 (7 months ago)
Introduced on April 28, 2025 by Rashida Tlaib
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
This bill helps people harmed by Agent Orange in Vietnam and supports Vietnamese American families in the U.S. It directs the government to offer medical care, nursing, job training, and equipment to affected people in Vietnam, plus support for caregivers like home care, respite care, rehab, counseling, and reconstructive surgery. It also funds repairing substandard homes, small grants and loans to reduce poverty, and cleanup of areas with high levels of contamination, with priority for heavily sprayed zones and former bases. Aid is delivered through Vietnamese community groups and public agencies across rural and urban areas, with efforts to bring in other donors and businesses to help. A “covered individual” includes a Vietnam resident with health problems tied to Agent Orange exposure during 1961–1975, or someone who lived near contaminated areas, as well as their children or descendants with related health issues. The Department of Health and Human Services must also fund health assessments of Vietnamese Americans who may have been exposed and set up centers in U.S. communities with large Vietnamese American populations to provide assessment, counseling, and treatment for related conditions.
Agencies must complete implementation plans within 180 days and put programs in place within 18 months, then file quarterly progress reports to Congress after that timeline begins.