I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1355 To provide health care and benefits to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces at Karshi Khanabad Air Base, Uzbekistan, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 25, 2021 Mr. LYNCH (for himself, Mr. GREEN of Tennessee, Mr. RYAN, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. WELCH, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. GRI- JALVA, Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Mr. COOPER, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. OMAR, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. STEWART, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. FOXX, Mr. POSEY, Mr. KEATING, Mr. BUDD, Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma, Ms. TITUS, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. KATKO, Mr. MASSIE, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. BABIN, Mr. BACON, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. BOEBERT, Mrs. KIM of California, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. CAWTHORN, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. MEIJER, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, and Mr. YOUNG) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Vet- erans’ Affairs A BILL To provide health care and benefits to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces at Karshi Khanabad Air Base, Uzbekistan, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1355.IH H1355 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1355 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘K2 Veterans Care Act 4 of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. PRESUMPTIONS OF SERVICE CONNECTION FOR 6 CERTAIN DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH EXPO- 7 SURE TO CERTAIN TOXIC SUBSTANCES BY 8 MEMBERS OF ARMED FORCES SERVING AT 9 KARSHI KHANABAD AIR BASE, UZBEKISTAN. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 1110 of 11 title 38, United States Code, and subject to section 1113 12 of such title, a disease specified in subsection (b) becoming 13 manifest in a veteran who served on active duty in the 14 Armed Forces at Karshi Khanabad Air Base, Uzbekistan, 15 at any time during the period beginning on January 1, 16 2001, and ending on December 31, 2005, shall be consid- 17 ered to have been incurred in or aggravated by such serv- 18 ice, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence 19 of such disease during the period of such service. 20 (b) DISEASES SPECIFIED.—The diseases specified in 21 this subsection are the illnesses and diseases that the Na- 22 tional Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 23 determine have a positive association, including a suffi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1355.IH H1355 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1355 IH cient, limited, or suggestive association, with exposure to 1 any of the following substances: 2 (1) Jet fuel. 3 (2) Volatile organic compounds. 4 (3) High levels of particulate matter and dust 5 resulting from open burn pits, as defined in section 6 201(c) of the Dignified Burial and Other Veterans’ 7 Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 8 112–260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note). 9 (4) Depleted uranium. 10 (5) Asbestos. 11 (6) Lead-based paint. 12 SEC. 3. HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS EXPOSED TO TOXIC 13 SUBSTANCES WHILE SERVING AS MEMBERS 14 OF THE ARMED FORCES AT KARSHI 15 KHANABAD AIR BASE, UZBEKISTAN. 16 Section 1710(e) of title 38, United States Code, is 17 amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 19 following new subparagraph: 20 ‘‘(G) A veteran who served on active duty in the 21 Armed Forces at Karshi Khanabad Air Base, Uzbekistan, 22 during the period beginning on January 1, 2001, and end- 23 ing on December 31, 2005, is eligible for hospital care, 24 medical services, and nursing home care under subsection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1355.IH H1355 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1355 IH (a)(2)(F) for any illness or disease for which the National 1 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine deter- 2 mine has a positive association, including a sufficient, lim- 3 ited, or suggestive association, with exposure to any of the 4 following substances, notwithstanding that there is insuffi- 5 cient medical evidence to conclude that such illness or dis- 6 ease is attributable to such service: 7 ‘‘(i) Jet fuel. 8 ‘‘(ii) Volatile organic compounds. 9 ‘‘(iii) High levels of particulate matter and dust 10 resulting from open burn pits, as defined in section 11 201(c) of the Dignified Burial and Other Veterans’ 12 Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 13 112–260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note). 14 ‘‘(iv) Depleted uranium. 15 ‘‘(v) Asbestos. 16 ‘‘(vi) Lead-based paint.’’; and 17 (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘or (F)’’ 18 and inserting ‘‘(F), or (G)’’. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1355.IH H1355 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS