H.R. 2447 IN THE PRESS

...  Panama Canal Zone veterans were not explicitly named in the PACT Act.  But the law gave the VA the ability to pinpoint other groups of  veterans in need of benefits. The agency hasn’t yet done that for the  Panama Canal Zone cohort. Instead of getting coverage automatically, Panama Canal Zone veterans have to go through a lengthy  process to prove that their health problems are related to toxic exposure. Democrat Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas said his office was aware of many such veterans who have struggled to get their  VA claims approved...

- Texas Public Radio

Steven Price went to the doctor’s office after suffering headaches in 2019. He was shocked by the diagnosis: Leukemia. The veteran connected his diagnosis to his service in the Panama Canal Zone in the 1980s. Price, 64, said the military used Agent Orange and other toxic herbicides to control vegetation growth and kill mosquitos, which now have been linked to diseases among veterans and Panamanian citizens. Price is among the Panama Canal Zone veterans left out of the PACT Act, passed to ease the process of receiving benefits for former service members exposed to herbicides...

- Houston Chronicle, 3/8/2024

Last week, U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., introduced the “Panama Canal Zone Veterans Act.”  The bill “provides Panama Canal veterans access to the healthcare they deserve to treat illness contracted through exposure to deadly herbicides....  Under a presumption of service-connection, certain conditions diagnosed  in veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of  their military service. This means they could receive federal benefits and disability compensation from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA),” Salazar’s office noted.

- Florida Daily

El congresista de San Antonio Joaquín Castro y varios otros legisladores  presentaron un proyecto de ley bipartidista para ampliar los beneficios de atención médica a los veteranos que sirvieron en la Zona del Canal de Panamá. La Ley de Veteranos de la Zona del Canal de Panamá ampliará la cobertura para veteranos que hayan experimentado enfermidades y condiciones asociadas con la exposicion a herbicidas en la zona del canal entre 1958 y 1999. Esto incluye los cánceres  respiratorios y a enfermedad de Parkinson y el hipotiroidismo....

-  Texas Public Radio

 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL),  in conjunction with Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV), Joaquin Castro  (D-TX), Mary Miller (R-IL), André Carson (D-IN), Darren Soto (D-FL), and  Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), introduced the Panama Canal Zone Veterans Act.

“Florida is home to numerous veterans who served our country by  patrolling the Panama Canal while our military was stationed there,” said Rep. Salazar. “We  need to provide our veterans with the healthcare they deserve, and which they need. They risked their lives every day for our country, its only right to be there for them in their time of need.”

[Representative] Titus introduced legislation to automatically extend healthcare benefits to Panama Canal Zone veterans for diseases contracted as a result of their military service by making the presumption that their condition is a result of their time in Panama, much like Congress did last year for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.

- The Nevada Independent