H.R. 3051 — Victims of Agent Orange Act of 2025

This section states congressional findings on the U.S. military's spraying of approximately 19 million gallons of 15 herbicides, including 13 million gallons of Agent Orange, over southern Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1961 to 1971; exposure of 2.1 million to 4.8 million Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodian, and American people; ongoing dioxin and arsenic contamination at dozens of hotspots (e.g., concentrations up to 1,000 mg/kg in soil); U.S. remediation at Da Nang Airport (completed) and Bien Hoa Airbase; 19 diseases (e.g., prostate cancer, Parkinson's disease) recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs for U.S. veterans; compensation and care for certain birth defects in children of female U.S. veterans (e.g., spina bifida, cleft palate) but only spina bifida (not occulta) for children of male veterans; lack of similar recognition or assistance for Vietnamese, Vietnamese Americans, or their descendants; and emerging scientific evidence of transgenerational effects.

This section directs the USAID Administrator, in coordination with other federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations, to provide assistance to covered individuals in Vietnam (i.e., residents affected by health issues related to Agent Orange exposure from January 1, 1961, to May 7, 1975, those living in or near contaminated areas, or their affected children or descendants) addressing (1) health care needs such as medical and chronic care services, nursing, vocational training, and medical equipment; (2) support to Vietnamese health care institutions for caregivers via medicines, equipment, custodial and home care, respite and daycare programs, caregiver training, rehabilitation, counseling, and reconstructive surgery; (3) housing repairs or rebuilds for covered individuals and their families, plus micro grants and loans for subsistence and poverty reduction; and (4) environmental remediation of areas with high Agent Orange levels, prioritizing heavily sprayed sites, military bases, spill areas, and crash sites. The Administrator must deliver such assistance (except remediation) through Vietnamese community organizations, public agencies, and across all areas of Vietnam (rural, mountainous, urban), while encouraging bilateral donors and U.S./foreign businesses to contribute.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to public health and Vietnamese American organizations for a broad health assessment of Vietnamese Americans potentially exposed to Agent Orange (i.e., a toxic herbicide used during the Vietnam War) and their children or descendants to determine health effects from such exposure. The section further requires the Secretary to establish centers in areas with large Vietnamese American populations to provide assessment, counseling, and treatment for Agent Orange-related conditions, which may be carried out through community or nongovernmental organizations.

This section directs the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), or its successor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to complete a plan for implementing applicable provisions of the Act, and issue a request for proposals if applicable, not later than 180 days after enactment. It further requires implementation of those provisions not later than 18 months after enactment.

This section directs the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), or successor, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to each submit a quarterly report to Congress on implementation of applicable provisions of this Act during the preceding fiscal quarter, beginning 18 months after enactment (due not later than 30 days after quarter-end).

This section defines the term “Agent Orange,” for purposes of this Act, to include any chemical compound that became part, either by design or through impurities, of an herbicide agent used in support of U.S. and allied military operations in the Republic of Vietnam.