WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs leaders are increasing their efforts to sideline legislation that would extend disability benefits to “blue water” veterans from the Vietnam War, saying the move would set a problematic precedent for future complaints.

“We know it is incredibly difficult to hear from Blue Water Veterans who are ailing and ill, and we have great empathy and compassion for these veterans and their families,” VA Secretary Robert Wilkie wrote in a letter to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee last week.