STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR
_____
JOINT RESOLUTION, REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO PROVIDE ACCESS
TO MEDICAL CARE AND ASSISTANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE
MAINE NATIONAL GUARD WHO TRAINED AT THE MILITARY
SUPPORT BASE IN GAGETOWN, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA
WE, your Memorialists, the Members of the One Hundred and Thirty-first Legislature of
the State of Maine now assembled in the Second Regular Session, most respectfully present
and petition the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as follows:
WHEREAS, Resolve 2023, chapter 95 established the Gagetown Harmful Chemical
Study Commission; and
WHEREAS, the commission was tasked with studying the impacts of exposure to harmful
chemicals, including 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, or TCDD, as well as other dioxins
including that known as Agent Orange, on veterans who served at the Canadian military
support base in Gagetown, New Brunswick, Canada; and
WHEREAS, the commission has striven to demonstrate through scientific evidence the
connection between exposure to those chemicals while training and subsequent negative health
outcomes, but it is the responsibility of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to
make this determination and provide care and assistance; and
WHEREAS, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has determined that
Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to tactical herbicides, including Agent Orange,
suffered harmful effects and were subsequently diagnosed with conditions or illnesses
associated with that exposure; and
WHEREAS, those who served at the Gagetown military support base include members
of the United States National Guard, who were never deployed but were nevertheless exposed
to these harmful chemicals, which are known to have been tested at Gagetown; and
WHEREAS, access to medical care and assistance through the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs is therefore unavailable for these National Guard members; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED: That We, your Memorialists, respectfully urge and request that the United
States Department of Veterans Affairs recognize the effects of exposure to harmful chemicals,
including TCDD and other dioxins, on members of the United States National Guard who
trained at Gagetown and who are diagnosed with conditions or illnesses associated with that
exposure as has already been done for Vietnam War veterans and others; and be it further
RESOLVED: That We further urge and request that the United States Department of
Veterans Affairs review the most recent scientific reporting on the effects to human health of
exposure to dioxins, to conduct independent environmental sampling and analysis at Gagetown
related to dioxins and risks to human health, to examine health outcomes for individuals who
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trained there and to provide access to medical care and assistance for those individuals; and be
it further
RESOLVED: That suitable copies of this resolution, duly authenticated by the Secretary
of State, be transmitted to the Honorable Joseph Biden, President of the United States; the
President of the United States Senate; the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United
States; the Honorable Denis Richard McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and each
Member of the Maine Congressional Delegation.
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