HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 17

(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Givens, Michael, Mahan, Kominar, Tucker, Boggs, Willison, Flanigan, Manchin, Amores, Linch, Frederick, Romine, Prunty, Pino, H. White, Williams, Caputo, Ennis, Leggett, Calvert, Davis, Laird, Susman, Sparks, Smirl, Fletcher, Dempsey, Leach, Louisos, Johnson, Compton, Kelley, Rowe, Cann, Thompson, Stemple, Anderson, Dalton, Butcher, Martin, J. Smith, Perdue and Stalnaker)
Requesting the Governor to designate the month of October of each year as Agent Orange/Dioxin Awareness Month.

Whereas, In the history of our country, there have been times of great trauma and disturbance in our society, the Vietnam War being such a period; and
Whereas, Many veterans of this great state honored this country by serving valiantly in the Vietnam War and these courageous veterans were exposed to Agent Orange, a herbicide the United States used during the Vietnam War (1961-1975) to defoliate the dense jungles and destroy crops, which is considered one of the most toxic substances ever made, a herbicide that includes plant hormones and the extremely dangerous chemical dioxin; and
Whereas, During the application of Agent Orange, code name "Operation Ranch Hand," over 2.4 million Americans were exposed to this toxic herbicide; and
Whereas, The continued adverse health effects of those exposures have been demonstrated in a Veterans Administration mortality study that shows correlations between Agent Orange/Dioxin exposure and nonhodgkin's lymphoma, hodgkin's disease, prostate cancer and lung cancer; and
Whereas, The West Virginia Veterans Coalition, on behalf of all West Virginia's veterans, have formally urged the Governor of West Virginia to designate the month of October as Agent Orange/Dioxin Awareness Month; and
Whereas, In light of the aforementioned link between Agent Orange/Dioxin and cancer in those exposed to it, and that October has been designated nationally as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it logically follows that October should also be the month to raise awareness of the effect of exposure to Agent/Orange/Dioxin; therefore, be it
Resolved by Legislature of West Virginia:
That Governor Cecil H. Underwood is urged to consider the request of the West Virginia Veterans Coalition to designate the month of October as Agent Orange/Dioxin Awareness Month; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House is hereby requested to forward a copy of this resolution to the Governor and to James N. Clayton, Chairman, West Virginia Veterans Coalition.