Agent Orange spending concerns Burr
By MIKE BAKER
Associated Press Writer
RALEIGH, NC (AP) — North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr says he has concerns about a proposal to spend billions of dollars on disability compensation for Vietnam veterans who get heart disease.
Burr is the leading Republican on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He said Monday he wants to make sure that the science supports the expansion of benefits.
Democrats on that panel have previously expressed reservations about the spending and plan to discuss the issue at a Capitol Hill hearing this week.
The spending is tied to concerns about the defoliant Agent Orange. The Department of Veterans Affairs wants to allow tens of thousands of Vietnam veterans to get compensation for heart disease, a common ailment for older adults.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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