Seventh Bipartisan LaLota Bill to Pass House Will Strengthen Vietnam Veterans’ Health Care

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Suffolk County) released the following statement after his seventh bipartisan bill of the 118th Congress, H.R. 4424, the Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act, passed the House:

“As an 11-year Navy Veteran, I'm proud that my seventh bipartisan bill to pass the House will ensure Vietnam Veterans gain better access to the VA care they deserve,” said LaLota. “Despite clear evidence linking liver fluke disease to their service, the VA still refuses to recognize it as a service-connected condition. My bill addresses this critical failure and acknowledges that these Veterans cannot afford to wait any longer. The House has acted decisively, and now the Senate must move swiftly to provide the care these Veterans urgently need and have earned.”

To read the full text of the bill, click HERE.

To watch LaLota’s remarks ahead of the bill's passage, click HERE.

Background:

In 2018, the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York conducted a groundbreaking study on liver fluke infection among Vietnam Veterans, using a 50-Veteran sample size. Although the study was smaller than most, its findings highlighted an urgent need for a larger-scale investigation, the development of standardized treatment protocols, and expanded access to care for affected Veterans at VA facilities nationwide.

Following this, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initiated the Vietnam Era Veterans Mortality Study, comparing mortality rates from cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) between Veterans deployed to the Vietnam War theater and those who served elsewhere. The study suggests a potential link between exposure to parasitic infections, contracted through contaminated freshwater fish, and a heightened risk of cholangiocarcinoma among Vietnam Veterans.

Despite this evidence, during a Legislative Hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) indicated that the VA does not support further research on the topic. Additionally, the VA has yet to designate cholangiocarcinoma as a service-connected condition, despite the findings of the Vietnam Era study.

The Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act seeks to address this gap by requiring the VA, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct a comprehensive study on the prevalence of liver fluke infections among Vietnam Veterans. This legislation aims to ensure that Vietnam Veterans receive the care and recognition they deserve for this debilitating condition.

Having passed his seventh bill of this two-year session, Representative LaLota has now passed more bills than 97% of House Members and 99% of House Freshmen.

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