I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2469 To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish an outreach program to inform members of the Armed Forces, assigned to work near burn pits, of the risks of toxic exposure, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 3, 2023 Mr. RUIZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish an outreach program to inform members of the Armed Forces, as- signed to work near burn pits, of the risks of toxic exposure, 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 ‘‘Toxic Exposure Edu- 4 cation for Servicemembers Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2469.IH H2469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2469 IH SEC. 2. OUTREACH TO MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES 1 REGARDING POSSIBLE TOXIC EXPOSURE. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 4 Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans 5 Affairs, shall establish— 6 (1) a new risk assessment for toxic exposure for 7 members of the Armed Forces assigned to work near 8 burn pits; and 9 (2) an outreach program to inform such mem- 10 bers regarding such toxic exposure. Such program 11 shall include information regarding benefits and sup- 12 port programs furnished by the Secretary (including 13 eligibility requirements and timelines) regarding 14 toxic exposure. 15 (b) PROMOTION.—The Secretary of Defense shall 16 promote the program to members described in subsection 17 (a) by direct mail, email, text messaging, and social media. 18 (c) PUBLICATION.—Not later than one year after the 19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 20 shall publish on a website of the Department of Defense 21 a list of resources furnished by the Secretary for— 22 (1) members and veterans who experienced 23 toxic exposure in the course of serving as a member 24 of the Armed Forces; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2469.IH H2469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2469 IH (2) dependents and caregivers of such members 1 and veterans; and 2 (3) survivors of such members and veterans 3 who receive death benefits under laws administered 4 by the Secretary. 5 (d) TOXIC EXPOSURE DEFINED.—In this section, the 6 term ‘‘toxic exposure’’ has the meaning given such term 7 in section 101 of title 38, United States Code. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:18 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2469.IH H2469 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB