Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2436 To amend title 38, United States Code, to concede exposure to airborne hazards and toxins from burn pits under certain circumstances, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 8, 2021 Ms. SLOTKIN (for herself and Mr. MEIJER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addi- tion to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to concede exposure to airborne hazards and toxins from burn pits under certain circumstances, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Veterans Burn Pits 4 Exposure Recognition Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 7 ings: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2436.IH H2436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2436 IH (1) The health of some members of the Armed 1 Forces and veterans who served in certain locations, 2 often multiple times, may have been affected by 3 their service near burn pits and other sources of air- 4 borne hazards. 5 (2) Determining the location of burn pits, and 6 the scope of health effects associated to exposure, re- 7 mains the subject of much investigation, research, 8 and good faith efforts by the Department of Vet- 9 erans Affairs, the Department of Defense, other gov- 10 ernment agencies, and the National Academies of 11 Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 12 (3) The locations of burn pits used by the De- 13 partment of Defense and partnered armed forces, 14 and the possible health effects associated by their 15 use, may never be completely known, as— 16 (A) some location and air and soil quality 17 data is fragmentary; and 18 (B) the research involved with establishing 19 links between burn pit exposure and health con- 20 ditions by necessity is complex, years in length, 21 and in the end, in some cases, inconclusive. 22 (4) The September 2020 National Academies of 23 Sciences, Engineering and Medicine consensus study 24 report entitled ‘‘Respiratory Health Effects of Air- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2436.IH H2436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2436 IH borne Hazards Exposures in the Southwest Asia 1 Theater of Military Operations’’ concludes that the 2 available evidence does not allow a definitive deter- 3 mination to be made about any potential association 4 between airborne hazards in the theater and numer- 5 ous respiratory health outcomes. The report charac- 6 terizes existing research as inadequate, and advises 7 that additional research be done, including longitu- 8 dinal studies that by design take years. 9 (5) In the interim, though, some veterans have 10 already been adversely affected by their exposure to 11 burn pits, and their claims to certain benefits fur- 12 nished by the Department of Veterans Affairs can 13 be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. 14 (6) When filing a claim for certain benefits fur- 15 nished by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the 16 application requires that each veteran show evidence 17 of their exposure to burn pits, however if the evi- 18 dence of exposure to burn pits is not provided, the 19 claim is often denied. 20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 21 gress that— 22 (1) if it is determined that a veteran was de- 23 ployed to a covered location during a certain period, 24 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should concede 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2436.IH H2436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2436 IH that the member or veteran was exposed to certain 1 toxic substances, chemicals, and hazards; 2 (2) a concession of exposure as described in 3 paragraph (1) should not alone be sufficient to enti- 4 tle one to health care or disability compensation 5 under laws administered by the Secretary of Vet- 6 erans Affairs; 7 (3) the Department of Veterans Affairs, the 8 Department of Defense, and other relevant agencies 9 should make information regarding burn pit loca- 10 tions immediately available to the public, with appro- 11 priate caveats to its completeness and need for po- 12 tential future revision; and 13 (4) the earliest possible period for which the 14 Secretary of Veterans Affairs should make conces- 15 sions as described in paragraph (1) should begin on 16 August 2, 1990. 17 SEC. 3. CONCESSION OF EXPOSURE TO AIRBORNE HAZ- 18 ARDS AND TOXIC SUBSTANCES FROM DE- 19 PARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND PARTNERED 20 ARMED FORCES BURN PITS. 21 (a) CONCESSION REQUIRED.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 11 23 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by add- 24 ing at the end the following new section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2436.IH H2436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2436 IH ‘‘§ 1119. Concession of exposure to airborne hazards 1 and toxic substances from burn pits 2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 1110 3 and chapter 17 of this title, any veteran who, during active 4 military, naval, or air service, was deployed in support of 5 a contingency operation while so serving and as part of 6 such deployment served in a covered location during a cor- 7 responding period set forth under subsection (b), shall be 8 considered to have been exposed to the toxic substances, 9 chemicals, and hazards listed in subsection (c), unless 10 there is affirmative evidence to establish that the veteran 11 was not exposed to any such substances, chemicals, or haz- 12 ards during that service. 13 ‘‘(b) COVERED LOCATIONS AND CORRESPONDING 14 PERIODS.—(1) The covered locations and corresponding 15 periods set forth under this subsection are as follows: 16 ‘‘(A) Iraq and the following periods: 17 ‘‘(i) The period beginning on August 2, 18 1990, and ending on February 28, 1991. 19 ‘‘(ii) The period beginning on March 19, 20 2003, and ending on such date as the Secretary 21 determines burn pits are no longer used in Iraq. 22 ‘‘(B) The Southwest Asia Theater of oper- 23 ations, other than Iraq, and the period beginning on 24 August 2, 1990, and ending on such date as the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2436.IH H2436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2436 IH Secretary determines burn pits are no longer used in 1 such location, including the following: 2 ‘‘(i) Kuwait. 3 ‘‘(ii) Saudi Arabia. 4 ‘‘(iii) Oman. 5 ‘‘(iv) Qatar. 6 ‘‘(C) Somalia and the period beginning on Au- 7 gust 2, 1990, and ending on such date as the Sec- 8 retary determines burn pits are no longer used in 9 Somalia. 10 ‘‘(D) Afghanistan and the period beginning on 11 September 11, 2001, and ending on such date as the 12 Secretary determines burn pits are no longer used in 13 Afghanistan. 14 ‘‘(E) Djibouti and the period beginning on Sep- 15 tember 11, 2001, and ending on such date as the 16 Secretary determines burn pits are no longer used in 17 Djibouti. 18 ‘‘(F) Syria and the period beginning on Sep- 19 tember 11, 2001, and ending on such date as the 20 Secretary determines burn pits are no longer used in 21 Syria. 22 ‘‘(G) Jordan and the period beginning on Sep- 23 tember 11, 2001, and ending on such date as the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2436.IH H2436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2436 IH Secretary determines burn pits are no longer used in 1 Jordan. 2 ‘‘(H) Egypt and the period beginning on Sep- 3 tember 11, 2001, and ending on such date as the 4 Secretary determines burn pits are no longer used in 5 Egypt. 6 ‘‘(I) Lebanon and the period beginning on Sep- 7 tember 11, 2001, and ending on such date as the 8 Secretary determines burn pits are no longer used in 9 Lebanon. 10 ‘‘(J) Yemen and the period beginning on Sep- 11 tember 11, 2001, and ending on such date as the 12 Secretary determines burn pits are no longer used in 13 Yemen. 14 ‘‘(K) Uzbekistan and the period beginning on 15 September 11, 2001, and ending on such date as the 16 Secretary determines burn pits are no longer used in 17 Uzbekistan. 18 ‘‘(L) The Philippines and the period beginning 19 on September 11, 2001, and ending on such date as 20 the Secretary determines burn pits are no longer 21 used in the Philippines. 22 ‘‘(M) Such other locations as are set forth by 23 the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry 24 established under section 201 of the Dignified Bur- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2436.IH H2436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2436 IH ial and Other Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act 1 of 2012 (Public Law 112–260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note) 2 and corresponding periods set forth in such registry. 3 ‘‘(N) Such other locations and corresponding 4 periods as the Secretary, in collaboration with the 5 Secretary of Defense, may determine appropriate in 6 a report the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall sub- 7 mit to Congress not later than two years after the 8 date of the enactment of the Veterans Burn Pits Ex- 9 posure Recognition Act of 2021 and not less fre- 10 quently than once every two years thereafter. 11 ‘‘(2) A location set forth under this subsection shall 12 not include any body of water around or any airspace 13 above such location. 14 ‘‘(c) TOXIC SUBSTANCES, CHEMICALS, AIRBORNE 15 HAZARDS.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the toxic sub- 16 stances, chemicals, and airborne hazards listed in this sub- 17 section are as follows: 18 ‘‘(A) Particulate matter, including the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘(i) PM-10. 21 ‘‘(ii) PM-2.5. 22 ‘‘(B) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 23 including the following: 24 ‘‘(i) Acenaphthene. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2436.IH H2436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2436 IH ‘‘(ii) Acenaphthylene. 1 ‘‘(iii) Anthracene. 2 ‘‘(iv) Benzo(a)anthracene. 3 ‘‘(v) Benzo(a)pyrene. 4 ‘‘(vi) Benzo(b)fluoroanthene. 5 ‘‘(vii) Benzo(g,h,i)perylene. 6 ‘‘(viii) Benzo(k)fluoroanthene. 7 ‘‘(ix) Chrysene. 8 ‘‘(x) Dibenz(a,h)anthracene. 9 ‘‘(xi) Fluoranthene. 10 ‘‘(xii) Fluorene. 11 ‘‘(xiii) Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene. 12 ‘‘(xiv) Naphthalene. 13 ‘‘(xv) Phenanthrene. 14 ‘‘(xvi) Pyrene. 15 ‘‘(C) Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), in- 16 cluding the following: 17 ‘‘(i) Acetone. 18 ‘‘(ii) Acrolein. 19 ‘‘(iii) Benzene. 20 ‘‘(iv) Carbon Disulfide. 21 ‘‘(v) Chlorodifluoromethane. 22 ‘‘(vi) Chloromethane. 23 ‘‘(vii) Ethylbenzene. 24 ‘‘(viii) Hexane. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2436.IH H2436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2436 IH ‘‘(ix) Hexachlorobutadiene. 1 ‘‘(x) m/p-Xylene. 2 ‘‘(xi) Methylene Chloride. 3 ‘‘(xii) Pentane. 4 ‘‘(xiii) Propylene. 5 ‘‘(xiv) Styrene. 6 ‘‘(xv) Toluene. 7 ‘‘(D) Toxic organic halogenated dioxins and 8 furans (dioxins), including the following: 9 ‘‘(i) 1,2,3,4,6,7,8 HPCDD. 10 ‘‘(ii) 1,2,3,4,6,7,8 HPCDF. 11 ‘‘(iii) 1,2,3,4,7,8,9 HPCDF. 12 ‘‘(iv) 1,2,3,4,7,8 HXCDD. 13 ‘‘(v) 1,2,3,4,7,8 HXCDF. 14 ‘‘(vi) 1,2,3,6,7,8 HXCDD. 15 ‘‘(vii) 1,2,3,6,7,8 HXCDF. 16 ‘‘(viii) 1,2,3,7,8,9 HXCDD. 17 ‘‘(ix) 1,2,3,7,8,9 HXCDF. 18 ‘‘(x) 1,2,3,7,8 PECDD. 19 ‘‘(xi) 1,2,3,7,8 PECDF. 20 ‘‘(xii) 2,3,4,6,7,8 HXCDF. 21 ‘‘(xiii) 2,3,4,7,8 PECDF. 22 ‘‘(xiv) 2,3,7,8 TCDD. 23 ‘‘(xv) 2,3,7,8 TCDF. 24 ‘‘(xvi) octachlorodibenzodioxin. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2436.IH H2436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2436 IH ‘‘(xvii) octachlorodibenzofuran. 1 ‘‘(E) Such other toxic substances, chemicals, 2 and airborne hazards as the Secretary, in collabora- 3 tion with the Secretary of Defense, may add under 4 paragraph (2). 5 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may add to or remove from the 6 list under paragraph (1) as the Secretary determines ap- 7 propriate in a report the Secretary shall submit to Con- 8 gress not later than two years after the date of the enact- 9 ment of the Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act 10 of 2021, and not less frequently than once every two years 11 thereafter. 12 ‘‘(d) MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS AND MEDICAL OPIN- 13 IONS.—(1) If a veteran described in subsection (a) sub- 14 mits to the Secretary a claim for compensation for a serv- 15 ice-connected disability with evidence of a disability and 16 service in a covered location and corresponding period set 17 forth under subsection (b) and such evidence is not suffi- 18 cient to establish a service connection for the disability, 19 the Secretary shall provide the veteran with a medical ex- 20 amination and the Secretary shall request a medical opin- 21 ion as to any causal link between the disability and a toxic 22 substance, chemical, or hazard set listed in subsection (c). 23 ‘‘(2) When providing the Secretary with a medical 24 opinion requested under paragraph (1), the provider shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:47 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2436.IH H2436 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2436 IH consider the total potential exposure through all applicable 1 military deployments, and the synergistic effect of all com- 2 bined toxic substances through inhalation, dermal expo- 3 sure, and ingestion. 4 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION OF BURN PIT.—In this section, the 5 term ‘burn pit’ means an area of land that— 6 ‘‘(1) is designated by the Secretary of Defense 7 to be used for disposing solid waste by burning in 8 the outdoor air; and 9 ‘‘(2) does not contain a commercially manufac- 10 tured incinerator or other equipment specifically de- 11 signed and manufactured for the burning of solid 12 waste.’’. 13 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 14 tions at the beginning of chapter 11 of such title is 15 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec- 16 tion 1118 the following new item: 17 ‘‘1119. Concession of exposure to airborne hazards and toxic substances from burn pits.’’. (b) REPORTS.— 18 (1) REPORTS REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 19 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 20 Senate and Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 21 House of Representatives reports as follows: 22 (A) No [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]