A U.S. Huey helicopter sprays Agent Orange over Vietnam in an undated photo. (U.S. Army) WASHINGTON — The generational effects of chemical warfare agents and other hazardous materials on the descendants of service members would be evaluated under a bill to fund $15 million in research on birth defects identified in the children and grandchildren of toxic-exposed veterans.
The Molly R. Loomis Research for Descendants of Toxic Exposed Veterans Act would commission multiple studies that look at the connections between toxic exposures of service members in combat zones and severe disabilities that were later diagnosed in their descendants.
The bill is included in two separate appropriations bills for the Defense Department and the Interior Department that have advanced in the Senate. House lawmakers have not offered a companion bill.
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s subpanel on defense, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., co-sponsored the research legislation, which would fund multiple studies by federal agencies and nonprofit organizations.
“While there has been some research on the link between birth defects and generational exposure to toxins and chemicals, there has yet to be comprehensive, government-led studies into the effects of toxic exposure on descendants of toxic-exposed veterans,” according to a statement from Tester’s office.
The funds would support the Toxic Exposures Research Program and build knowledge on the generational impact of chemical exposures on military members and their descendants, according to Tester, who also is chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
“This bill aims to empower the toxic exposures research group to conduct more vital research related to toxic exposure,” Rubio said.
The legislation is named after the daughter of a Vietnam-era Navy veteran exposed to Agent Orange during military service aboard the USS Ogden, an amphibious transport dock ship. Molly Loomis, whose father was exposed to Agent Orange during military service in Vietnam, was born with spina bifida, a condition where the spine does not develop properly during fetal development. The birth defect has been identified in descendants of Vietnam War veterans exposed to the herbicide. (Molly Loomis) Molly Loomis of Bozeman, Mont., was born with spina bifida, a presumptive disability […]
Senators push $15M bill to study birth defects in children of veterans exposed to toxic chemicals
