II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1360 To require the Secretary of Defense to include exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and polyfluoroalkyl substances in periodic health assessments of members of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 27, 2023 Mrs. SHAHEEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To require the Secretary of Defense to include exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and polyfluoroalkyl sub- stances in periodic health assessments of members of the Armed Forces, 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 ‘‘PFAS Exposure As- 4 sessment and Documentation Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1360.IS S1360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1360 IS SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF EXPOSURE TO PERFLUOROALKYL 1 SUBSTANCES AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUB- 2 STANCES AS PART OF PERIODIC HEALTH AS- 3 SESSMENTS. 4 (a) PERIODIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT.—The Sec- 5 retary of Defense shall ensure that any periodic health as- 6 sessment provided to a member of the Armed Forces in- 7 cludes an evaluation of whether the member has been— 8 (1) based or stationed at a military installation 9 identified by the Department of Defense as a loca- 10 tion with a known or suspected release of 11 perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl sub- 12 stances during the period in which the member was 13 based or stationed at the military installation; or 14 (2) exposed to such substances, including by 15 evaluating any information in the health record of 16 the member. 17 (b) SEPARATION HISTORY AND PHYSICAL EXAMINA- 18 TIONS.—Section 1145(a)(5) of title 10, United States 19 Code, is amended— 20 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘subpara- 21 graph (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (E)’’; 22 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub- 23 paragraph (E); and 24 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol- 25 lowing new subparagraph (D): 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1360.IS S1360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1360 IS ‘‘(D) The Secretary concerned shall ensure that each 1 physical examination of a member under subparagraph 2 (A) includes an assessment of whether the member was— 3 ‘‘(i) based or stationed at a military installation 4 identified by the Department as a location with a 5 known or suspected release of perfluoroalkyl sub- 6 stances or polyfluoroalkyl substances during the pe- 7 riod in which the member was based or stationed at 8 the military installation; or 9 ‘‘(ii) exposed to such substances, including by 10 assessing any information in the health record of the 11 member.’’. 12 (c) DEPLOYMENT ASSESSMENTS.—Section 13 1074f(b)(2) of title 10, United States Code, is amended 14 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 15 ‘‘(E) An assessment of whether the member 16 was— 17 ‘‘(i) based or stationed at a military instal- 18 lation identified by the Department as a loca- 19 tion with a known or suspected release of 20 perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl sub- 21 stances during the period in which the member 22 was based or stationed at the military installa- 23 tion; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1360.IS S1360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1360 IS ‘‘(ii) exposed to such substances, including 1 by assessing any information in the health 2 record of the member.’’. 3 SEC. 3. PROVISION OF BLOOD TESTING FOR MEMBERS OF 4 THE ARMED FORCES, FORMER MEMBERS OF 5 THE ARMED FORCES, AND THEIR FAMILIES 6 TO DETERMINE EXPOSURE TO 7 PERFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES OR 8 POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES. 9 (a) MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a covered evaluation of a 11 member of the Armed Forces results in a positive 12 determination of potential exposure to perfluoroalkyl 13 substances or polyfluoroalkyl substances, the Sec- 14 retary of Defense shall provide to that member, dur- 15 ing that covered evaluation, blood testing to deter- 16 mine and document potential exposure to such sub- 17 stances. 18 (2) INCLUSION IN HEALTH RECORD.—The re- 19 sults of blood testing of a member of the Armed 20 Forces conducted under paragraph (1) shall be in- 21 cluded in the health record of the member. 22 (b) FORMER MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND 23 FAMILY MEMBERS.—The Secretary shall pay for blood 24 testing to determine and document potential exposure to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1360.IS S1360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1360 IS perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl substances for 1 any covered individual, at the election of the individual, 2 either through the TRICARE program for individuals oth- 3 erwise eligible for such program or through the use of 4 vouchers to obtain such testing. 5 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) COVERED EVALUATION.—The term ‘‘cov- 7 ered evaluation’’ means— 8 (A) a periodic health assessment conducted 9 in accordance with section 2(a); 10 (B) a separation history and physical ex- 11 amination conducted under section 1145(a)(5) 12 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by 13 section 2(b); and 14 (C) a deployment assessment conducted 15 under section 1074f(b)(2) of such title, as 16 amended by section 2(c). 17 (2) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 18 individual’’ means a former member of the Armed 19 Forces or a family member of a member or former 20 member of the Armed Forces who lived at a location 21 (or the surrounding area of such a location) identi- 22 fied by the Department of Defense as a location 23 with a known or suspected release of perfluoroalkyl 24 substances or polyfluoroalkyl substances during the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1360.IS S1360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1360 IS period in which the individual lived at that location 1 (or surrounding area). 2 (3) TRICARE PROGRAM.—The term 3 ‘‘TRICARE program’’ has the meaning given that 4 term in section 1072(7) of title 10, United States 5 Code. 6 SEC. 4. DOCUMENTATION OF EXPOSURE TO 7 PERFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES OR 8 POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES. 9 (a) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary of 10 Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter 11 into a memorandum of understanding providing for the 12 sharing by the Department of Defense with the Depart- 13 ment of Veterans Affairs of the results of covered evalua- 14 tions regarding the exposure by a member of the Armed 15 Forces to perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl sub- 16 stances. 17 (b) REGISTRY.— 18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of De- 19 fense shall establish a registry of members of the 20 Armed Forces who have been exposed to, or are sus- 21 pected to have been exposed to, perfluoroalkyl sub- 22 stances or polyfluoroalkyl substances. 23 (2) INCLUSION IN REGISTRY.—The Secretary 24 shall include a member of the Armed Forces in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1360.IS S1360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1360 IS registry established under paragraph (1) if a covered 1 evaluation of the member establishes that the mem- 2 ber— 3 (A) was based or stationed at a location 4 identified by the Department of Defense as a 5 location with a known or suspected release of 6 perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl sub- 7 stances during the period in which the member 8 was based or stationed at the location; or 9 (B) was exposed to such substances. 10 (3) BLOOD TESTING.—The results of any blood 11 test conducted under section 4(a) shall be included 12 in the registry established under paragraph (1) for 13 any member of the Armed Forces included in the 14 registry. 15 (4) ELECTION.—A member of the Armed 16 Forces may elect not to be included in the registry 17 established under paragraph (1). 18 (c) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary of 19 Defense shall provide to a member of the Armed Forces 20 more information on perfluoroalkyl substances and 21 polyfluoroalkyl substances and the potential impact of ex- 22 posure to such substances if a covered evaluation of such 23 member establishes that the member— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1360.IS S1360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1360 IS (1) was based or stationed at a location identi- 1 fied by the Department of Defense as a location 2 with a known or suspected release of perfluoroalkyl 3 substances or polyfluoroalkyl substances during the 4 period in which the member was based or stationed 5 at the location; or 6 (2) was exposed to such substances. 7 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 8 tion may be construed to preclude eligibility of a veteran 9 for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary 10 of Veterans Affairs by reason of the exposure of the vet- 11 eran to perfluoroalkyl substances or polyfluoroalkyl sub- 12 stances not being recorded in a covered evaluation. 13 (e) COVERED EVALUATION DEFINED.—In this sec- 14 tion, the term ‘‘covered evaluation’’ means— 15 (1) a periodic health assessment conducted in 16 accordance with section 2(a); 17 (2) a separation history and physical examina- 18 tion conducted under section 1145(a)(5) of title 10, 19 United States Code, as amended by section 2(b); 20 and 21 (3) a deployment assessment conducted under 22 section 1074f(b)(2) of such title, as amended by sec- 23 tion 2(c). 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1360.IS S1360 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS