Robert Earl Filner, a member of the US House of Representatives, met with the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) in Hanoi on Jan. 9, after his fact-finding tour of AO victims in Vietnam from Jan. 4.

VAVA President Nguyen Van Rinh thanked the US Congressman for his help to Vietnamese AO victims in recent years. In particular, in July 2011, the Congressman submitted a draft bill to the House of Representatives on relief for Agent Orange victims, including Vietnamese victims.

He said VAVA hopes the bill will be adopted, in order to help victims in Vietnam as well as in the US get appropriate compensation.

The VAVA wants the Congressman to continue hastening the US Government to allocate its budget on the AO issue to the Vietnamese Government, Rinh said.

The US Government should continue helping AO victims along with efforts to clean up dioxin hot spots, the VAVA President said.

He affirmed his association is not only interested in Vietnamese victims but also those in other countries, including US veterans.

The association is pleased with each victory won by victims, considering them as common victories, he added.
Congressman Filner spoke highly of VAVA’s efforts in recent years to help victims and contribute to raising awareness among the people, including Americans, on the consequences of Agent Orange.

He said Vietnamese AO victims need more assistance, especially from the US . Many others in the Congress supported the draft bill, he said.

Earlier, Congressman Filner visited Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ngai province and Da Nang city, where he had working sessions with local authorities and VAVA chapters and visited families of AO/dioxin victims and centres for care of AO/dioxin victims./.