Citation Nr: 21039998 Decision Date: 07/02/21 Archive Date: 07/02/21 DOCKET NO. 18-13 702 DATE: July 2, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bladder cancer is granted. FINDING OF FACT 1. By virtue of the Veteran's service in the Republic of Vietnam, in-service exposure to an herbicide agent is conceded. 2. Pathological testing in August 2017 confirmed a diagnosis of bladder cancer. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria to establish service connection for bladder cancer are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1116(a)(2), 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.307, 3.309(e). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from August 1965 to August 1967, to include service in the Republic of Vietnam. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a November 2017 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), which is the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ). The Veteran expressed timely disagreement with this determination, and the present appeal ensued. In May 2021, the Veteran presented oral testimony in support of his appeal at a Board hearing that was conducted by the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) via videoconferencing equipment. A transcript of this hearing is of record. 1. Entitlement to service connection for bladder cancer, to include as due to in-service exposure to an herbicide agent, is granted. Service connection may be granted for disability due to disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304. The legal authority governing claims for service connection based on herbicide exposure is pertinent to this claim. Absent affirmative evidence to the contrary, there is a presumption of exposure to herbicide agents, to include Agent Orange, for all veterans who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam Era (the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975). 38 U.S.C. § 1116 (f) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.307 (a)(6)(iii). If a veteran was exposed to an herbicide agent (to include Agent Orange) during active military, naval, or air service, the diseases listed under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309 (e) shall be service-connected if the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.307 (a)(6) are met, even if there is no record of such disease during service, provided further that the rebuttable presumption provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.307 (d) are also satisfied. 38 C.F.R. § 3.309 (e). Prior to the enactment of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), bladder cancer was not listed as one of the diseases that may be presumed to be service connected as due to exposure to herbicide agents if manifested in a Veteran who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam Era. 38 U.S.C. § 1116; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309(e). However, the 2021 NDAA (enacted January 1, 2021, over presidential veto) has added three disorders to the list of diseases presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents. Specifically, it amended 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(2) to include parkinsonism, bladder cancer, and hypothyroidism. Analysis The Veteran's service records confirm that his active duty included service in the Republic of Vietnam from June 1966 to June 1967, and thus, in-service exposure to an herbicide agent is conceded. Further, pathological testing completed in August 2017 confirmed a diagnosis of bladder cancer. Based on facts found, he is now entitled to consideration of the presumptive provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1116(a)(2). After doing so, the criteria to establish service connection for bladder cancer is warranted on a presumptive basis. Michael J. Skaltsounis Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Scott W. Dale, Counsel The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.