Military-Veterans Advocacy, the primary stakeholder along with the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association just discovered that Dr Phil Roe of TN the Ranking Member on House Committee on Veterans Affairs has introduced another Blue Water Navy bill using the same verbiage as the bill that failed the Senate last year. The Blue Water Navy bill passed the House unanimously but died in the Senate due to multiple holds.
Military-Veterans Advocacy’s Statement on the Introduction of a Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Bill
Military-Veterans Advocacy Executive Director, Commander John B. Wells, USN (ret) stated that the re-introduction was “premature.” Wells, the author of the original bill, worked closely with the Committee on the language defining the scope of coverage. MVA is currently working on revised language to clarify the area of coverage, in response to a statement by the Congressional Budget Office that the scope of the bill had been expanded.
“While we appreciate Dr. Roe’s, current and present support,” Wells said, “we need to address lessons learned from the 115th Congress to ensure the bill will pass in this Congress. We have asked Dr. Roe to work with Military-Veterans Advocacy to perfect the bill before it moves forward.”
A court case brought by Military-Veterans Advocacy, Procopio v. Wilkie, is pending a decision before the full Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. A favorable decision will expand the presumption of exposure to the territorial sea, the same area covered by the bill. A decision is expected sometime next Spring.
Commander J. B. Wells U. S. Navy (Retired)
Attorney at Law
Executive Director
Military-Veterans Advocacy, Inc.
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Before we go into the details of this new bill, we need to understand the bond between a navy veteran and the ship on which he served. As a ranking officer, you often become a father figure for the seamen. But it’s the bond between a sailor and his ship that remains one of the strongest of all time. So this bill will increase the support for the sailors who had served in the United States Navy in Vietnam and also to their families.