SHIELD Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for H.R. 586, the Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act, as amended.

Liver fluke is a serious parasitic infection that is a well- recognized risk factor for the development of bile duct cancer.

H.R. 586, as amended, would require VA, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to commence an epidemiological study on the prevalence of bile duct cancer in veterans who served in the Vietnam war versus their nonveteran U.S. resident counterparts.

This legislation requires VA to submit a report with the results of the study broken out by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and geographic location.

I certainly understand why Vietnam war veterans would be concerned about their exposure to this disease and believe we should do everything possible to ensure veterans have access to care and treatment for diseases they may have been exposed to as a part of their service. However, I must note that the context in which we are considering this legislation is vastly different than the last time the bill was considered by the House just under 7 months ago.

In fact, under Secretary Kennedy's leadership in the past week, the CDC, or Centers for Disease Control, has cut 18 percent of its workforce. Many of these roles have been in global and environmental health roles, which means the individuals in offices best suited to assist with the requirements of this bill may no longer even exist at the CDC.

Vietnam war veterans deserve answers about their health and access to the best treatments. Under this administration's chaotic and damaging workforce cuts across all sectors of government, it will be harder than ever to get these answers.

I will support this bill today, but I urge my colleagues to consider that implementation of this bill will be harder than it needs to be in the new CDC workforce realities that we are now in. These workforce cuts have real and lasting consequences, including for our veterans.

In addition, while I support the underlying goals of this measure, I must express concern over the majority's decision to offset its cost by diverting pension payments from some of the VA's oldest and sickest veterans.

The VA pension programs exist specifically to assist our most vulnerable veterans and their survivors. Slashing these benefits, particularly when other support systems are also under threat, poses a significant risk for those who rely on them most.

I recognize that this offset has been employed historically and in some form since the 1960s. However, in light of this administration's ongoing efforts, enabled by a complacent Republican-led Congress, to systematically weaken VA, we must reevaluate whether it remains appropriate to rely on this offset. I believe it would be prudent to discuss with the Senate whether a more appropriate offset can be identified before this bill becomes law.

Mr. Speaker, with those caveats I have identified, I support this legislation, and I ask my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 586, the Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, a weekend or two ago in Suffolk County, I stood with nearly 1,000 Long Islanders at a Vietnam war Veterans Day ceremony. The theme of the day was simple but powerful: Welcome home.

Welcome home after serving in a war that was unpopular at home.

Welcome home after surviving brutal jungle and guerrilla warfare.

Welcome home after losing more than 58,000 brothers and sisters in arms.

Welcome home to a nation and a healthcare system that wasn't ready to care for your wounds, seen and unseen.

Today, Vietnam veterans across my district and across the country are still fighting. This time, the enemy isn't on a battlefield overseas. It is a silent killer, bile duct cancer, caused by a parasite known as the liver fluke.

Multiple studies have confirmed what these veterans have suspected for decades. Those who served in Vietnam face a much higher risk of contracting, suffering from, and dying from this disease.

Here is the most disappointing part, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Veterans Affairs continues to hide behind a familiar excuse: We don't have enough data.

Let me tell you what we do have. In 2018, the Northport VA Medical Center on Long Island, right in the heart of my district, conducted the first of its kind study on this issue. From a small sample of 50 Vietnam veterans, 24 percent tested positive for exposure to the liver fluke parasite.

That study raised the alarm and called for further research, standardized treatment, and expanded access to care for affected veterans at VA facilities across the country.

Instead of urgent action, we got bureaucratic delay. It wasn't until 2024, 6 years later, that a second followup study was finally completed. What did

it find? Exactly what our veterans had been saying all along. Marines who served in Vietnam were 30 percent more likely to die from this disease than those who served elsewhere.

Still, the VA refuses to acknowledge this as a service-connected condition. Mr. Speaker, that is unacceptable.

We have seen this pattern before with Agent Orange, the blue water Navy, and now, again, with liver fluke: Delay, denial, deflection.

In response, I introduced H.R. 4424, the Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act, a bipartisan bill requiring the VA, in partnership with the CDC, to conduct a nationwide study and finally confront the truth: Bile duct cancer caused by the liver fluke parasite is a service-related illness.

Since the VA won't act, Congress must because our Vietnam veterans deserve more than parades and speeches. They deserve answers, care, and our action.

Mr. Speaker, every day we wait, more veterans die without the care they deserve. Let's not repeat the failures of the past.

Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Bost for his support of this legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in standing with those who once stood for us. They answered the call. Now, it is our turn.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 586) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to study and report on the prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma in veterans who served in the Vietnam theater of operations during the Vietnam era, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 586, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 586, as amended, offered by Representative LaLota from New York, my friend and fellow veteran.

Representative LaLota's bill would require VA to conduct a study and produce a report on the frequency of bile duct cancer for veterans who served in and around the Vietnam war.

Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that many Vietnam veterans suffered greatly in service to their country. Thousands of Vietnam veterans still live with invisible and visible wounds of war today.

My own uncle is one of them. He served in Vietnam and, like so many others, suffered debilitating injuries from his service. Sadly, many never received the treatment or recognition they deserved when they came home.

Today, we are still learning about the full extent of the health risks these veterans faced, some of which weren't understood at the time.

One risk may have come from something as simple and routine as eating local food during their deployment. Certain uncooked fish consumed in Southeast Asia are known to carry a parasite called a liver fluke. The parasite can cause infection and long-term scarring that may lead to bile duct cancer. This is a rare but serious illness here in the U.S. and one more commonly found in the region where our veterans served.

This bill would require VA to study whether bile duct cancer is linked to service in Vietnam and whether this rare condition should be considered service-connected.

One of VA's most important missions is to care for the injuries veterans sustain while they serve this country. This study would help uphold that sacred obligation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my fellow veteran, Mr. LaLota, for his leadership on this bill on behalf of our veterans. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 586, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaLota), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.