A recent inspector general report found VA failed to identify tens of thousands of Vietnam veterans who could qualify for retroactive benefits.
Eric White @FEDERALNEWSCAST
While Veterans Affairs has been trending in the right direction on some metrics, the failures are still magnified due to the subject matter. A recent inspector general report found VA failed to identify tens of thousands of Vietnam veterans who could qualify for retroactive benefits. To get some reaction and legal knowledge about what is required of the agency, Federal News Network executive producer Eric White welcomed Bart Stichman, co-founder and special counsel for the National Veterans Legal Services Program on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin .
Interview transcript:
Eric White Bart, thank you for always joining us.
Bart Stichman Well, thank you for having me here.
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Eric White Absolutely. So, why don’t we just set the table and tell me a little bit about the history of this class action lawsuit that actually involves the NVLSP back in the 1980s, which I don’t know if you were around then, but I’d be happy to learn some of the insight that you know about that case.
Bart Stichman Well, actually, I was around then. And I was part of the team at our organization that filed the lawsuit in 1986 in federal court in California, challenging the VA Agent Orange compensation rules. For people who are younger than me, they may not realize that the United States sprayed, during the Vietnam war, in Vietnam, a herbicide to kill forests where the enemy was hiding as a tool during the war. And this herbicide contained, which chemical companies produced for the government, contained toxic substances that caused illnesses in humans, both Vietnamese and the troops. It contained a contaminant called dioxin that the EPA banned because it was so toxic to humans and animals as well. And, so, the lawsuit successfully got the court to strike down […]
Thousands of Vietnam veterans are missing out on VA benefits
