U.S. House passes bill to provide health care to Korean veterans of Vietnam War

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U.S. House passes bill to provide health care to Korean veterans of Vietnam War

Published: 24 May. 2023, 10:03 Updated: 24 May. 2023, 10:52

Rep. Mark Takano, right, and Korean Veterans Affairs Minister Park Min-shik shake hands during their meeting in Seoul on Aug. 4, 2022. [MINISTRY OF PATRIOTS AND VETERANS AFFAIRS]

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would provide health care services to former Korean veterans of the Vietnam War who have since become citizens of the United States, the office of Rep. Mark Takano said Tuesday.

The bill, titled the Korean American Vietnam Allies Long Overdue for Relief Act or the Korean American VALOR Act, was unanimously passed by the House on Monday, according to a Takano's aide.

Takano, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs (VA) ranking member, introduced the bill in January.

"Naturalized Korean American Vietnam War veterans fought bravely alongside their U.S brothers and sisters but have never been eligible for VA health care services," Takano was quoted as saying.

The proposed act, if enacted, will allow naturalized former Korean veterans of the Vietnam War to receive the same medical services provided to American veterans and veterans of European nations that were allies of the United States during World War I and World War II.

Takano's office earlier said some 2,800 former Korean veterans of the Vietnam War now reside in the United States.

Veterans of U.S. allies in Europe have had access to the VA health care system in the United States since 1958, according to Takano, who earlier stressed that the Korean American VALOR Act is already "long overdue."

The bill needs to pass the Senate before it can be signed into law by the president.

"I am ecstatic that the House passed my bipartisan Korean American VALOR Act, which would rectify this injustice. With this passage, we are one step closer to ensuring that Korean American Vietnam war veterans get the VA medical care that they deserve," he added, according to his office.

Yonhap