Referred to: The Legislative Programs, Education, and Community Services

Committee (Chairman David B. Donaldson and Legislators Archer, Greene, Lopez,

and Wawro)

Chairman of the Legislative Programs, Education, and Community Services

Committee, David B. Donaldson, and Committee Members Legislators Archer,

Greene, Lopez and Wawro offer the following:

WHEREAS, during the Vietnam War, the United States military sprayed 22

million gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides over Vietnam to reduce forest

cover and crops used by the enemy; and

 WHEREAS, the United States Congress passed the Agent Orange Act of

1991, to address the plight of veterans exposed to herbicides while serving in the

Republic of Vietnam; and

 WHEREAS, pursuant to a 2001 directive, the United States Department of

Veterans Affairs only grants benefits to Agent Orange-exposed veterans who served

on the ground or in the rivers of Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, those who served off the coast of Vietnam, otherwise known as

“Blue Water Navy Veterans”, are not covered; and

 WHEREAS, the 2001 policy further requires the Vietnam veterans themselves

to furnish written documentation that they had “boots on the ground” in the country,

making it difficult for countless United States Navy, Marine and Air Force veterans

to pursue their claims for benefits; and

WHEREAS, various studies and reports indicate Agent Orange as a wide

spreading chemical that was able to reach Navy Ships docked close to the shore of

Vietnam, operated in Vietnam’s close coastal waters and/or sent smaller vessels to

shore through the air and waterborne distribution routes; and

WHEREAS, more than thirty (30) Veterans Service Organizations support the

Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2013; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Ulster County Legislature urges the United States

House of Representatives to ensure the passage of H.R.-543 within the 113th

Congressional Session; and, be it further 

- Page 2 -

Resolution No. 33 January 30, 2014

In Support Of House of Representatives Legislation H.R. 543, An

Act Cited As The “Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2013”,

Which Would Clarify Presumptions Relating To The Exposure Of

Certain Veterans Who Served In The Vicinity Of the Republic of

Vietnam

RESOLVED, that the Ulster County Legislature urges the United States

Senate to re-introduce the companion bill of H.R.-543 and ensure its passage within

the 113th Congressional Session; and, be it further

RESOLVED, the Clerk of the Ulster County Legislature shall forward copies

of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the President of the Senate

and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress,

United States Congressman Chris Gibson, United States Senator Kristen Gillibrand

and United States Senator Charles Schumer with a request that this resolution be

officially entered into the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the

United States of America,

and moves its adoption.

ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES: 22 NOES: 0

(Absent: Legislator Roberts)

Passed Committee: Legislative Programs, Education, and Community Services

Committee on January 22, 2014

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

NONE

STATE OF NEW YORK

 ss:

COUNTY OF ULSTER

This is to certify that I, the undersigned Clerk of the Legislature of the County of Ulster have compared the

foregoing resolution with the original resolution now on file in the office of said clerk, and which was adopted by said

Legislature on the 30th Day of January, 2014, and that the same is a true and correct transcript of said resolution and of the

whole thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of the County of Ulster this 3rd Day of February

in the year Two Thousand and Fourteen.

|s| Victoria A. Fabella

Victoria A. Fabella, Clerk

Ulster County Legislature