2019-04-18 04:28:02
■ Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie testified before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in March that the VA would not be recommending a Supreme Court review on the precedential decision in Procopio v. Wilkie.
Procopio v. Wilkie—the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit case that determined Blue Water Navy veterans are eligible for presumptive exposure to Agent Orange benefits— could extend benefits to Vietnam veterans who served on ships within 12 nautical miles offshore during the war.
In October 2018, the Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals issued a memorandum placing a stay on the adjudication of all appeals for benefits based on exposure to Agent Orange in the waters offshore of Vietnam. On April 1, 2019, the chairman of the board lifted the stay, allowing those appeals to move forward.
At the time of this publishing, no appeal had been made. The deadline for an appeal is April 29, 2019. For the most current updates, follow facebook.com/DAV and twitter.com/DAVHQ.
©Disabled American Veterans. View All Articles.