To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an exposure registry and conduct epidemiological studies to assess health outcomes associated with the Red Hill Incident.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4061 To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an exposure registry and conduct epidemiological studies to assess health outcomes associated with the Red Hill Incident. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 13, 2023 Mr. CASE (for himself and Ms. TOKUDA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an exposure registry and conduct epidemio- logical studies to assess health outcomes associated with the Red Hill Incident. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. REGISTRY FOR IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS OF 3 THE RED HILL INCIDENT. 4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF REGISTRY.—The Secretary 5 of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section 6 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish within the Agency for 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 4061 IH Toxic Substances and Disease Registry or the Centers for 1 Disease Control and Prevention or through an award of 2 a grant or contract, as the Secretary determines appro- 3 priate, a Red Hill Incident exposure registry to collect 4 data on health implications of petroleum-contaminated 5 water for impacted individuals on a voluntary basis. Such 6 registry shall be complementary to, and not duplicative of, 7 the Red Hill Incident Report of the Defense Occupational 8 and Environmental Health Readiness System. 9 (b) OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina- 11 tion with the Director of the Centers for Disease 12 Control and Prevention, and in consultation with the 13 Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Af- 14 fairs, and such State and local authorities or other 15 partners as the Secretary of Health and Human 16 Services considers appropriate, shall— 17 (A) review the Federal programs and serv- 18 ices available to individuals exposed to petro- 19 leum; 20 (B) review current research on petroleum 21 exposure in order to identify additional research 22 needs; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 4061 IH (C) identify effective services, individuals 1 and communities affected by petroleum-con- 2 taminated water; and 3 (D) undertake any other review or activi- 4 ties that the Secretary determines to be appro- 5 priate. 6 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 7 date of enactment of this Act, and annually there- 8 after for 6 additional years, the Secretary shall sub- 9 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a 10 report on the review and activities undertaken under 11 paragraph (1) that includes— 12 (A) strategies for communicating and en- 13 gaging with stakeholders on the Red Hill Inci- 14 dent; 15 (B) the number of impacted and poten- 16 tially impacted individuals enrolled in the reg- 17 istry established under subsection (a); 18 (C) processes for referring such registry 19 enrollees to comprehensive, coordinated services 20 to mitigate the effects of petroleum exposure; 21 (D) measures and frequency of follow-up 22 to collect data and specimens related to expo- 23 sure, health, and developmental milestones as 24 appropriate; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 4061 IH (E) a summary of data and analyses on 1 exposure, health, and developmental milestones 2 for impacted individuals. 3 (3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out para- 4 graphs (1) and (2), the Secretary shall consult 5 with— 6 (A) non-Federal experts, including persons 7 with certification in epidemiology, toxicology, 8 mental health, pediatrics, and environmental 9 health; and 10 (B) members of the impacted community. 11 (c) FUNDING.—Without regard to section 2215 of 12 title 10, United States Code, the Secretary of Defense is 13 authorized to provide, from amounts made available to 14 such Secretary, such sums as may be necessary for each 15 of fiscal years 2024 through 2030 for the Secretary of 16 Health and Human Services to carry out this section. 17 SEC. 2. RED HILL EPIDEMIOLOGICAL HEALTH OUTCOMES 18 STUDY. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 20 Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of De- 21 fense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and such State 22 and local health authorities or other partners as the Sec- 23 retary of Health and Human Services considers appro- 24 priate, shall conduct an epidemiological study or studies 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 4061 IH for a period of not less than 20 years to assess health 1 outcomes for impacted individuals of the Red Hill Inci- 2 dent. 3 (b) ADDITIONAL CONTRACTS.—The Secretary of 4 Health and Human Services may contract with inde- 5 pendent research institutes or consultants, nonprofit or 6 public entities, laboratories, or medical schools, as the Sec- 7 retary considers appropriate, that are not part of the Fed- 8 eral Government to assist with the feasibility assessment 9 required by subsection (d) and the study or studies under 10 subsection (a). 11 (c) FUNDING.—Without regard to section 2215 of 12 title 10, United States Code, the Secretary of Defense is 13 authorized to provide, from amounts made available to 14 such Secretary, no less than $4,000,000 for fiscal year 15 2024 for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 16 carry out the assessment under subsection (d), and such 17 sums as may be necessary to complete the study or studies 18 under subsection (a). 19 (d) FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT.—Not later than one 20 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 21 retary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the 22 appropriate congressional committees the results of a fea- 23 sibility assessment to inform the design of the epidemio- 24 logical study or studies to assess health outcomes for im- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 4061 IH pacted individuals and a plan for such study or studies 1 under subsection (a), which may include— 2 (1) a strategy to recruit impacted individuals to 3 participate in the study or studies, including incen- 4 tives for participation; 5 (2) a description of protocols and methodologies 6 to assess health outcomes from the Red Hill Inci- 7 dent, including data management protocols to secure 8 the privacy and security of the personal information 9 of impacted individuals; and 10 (3) the periodicity for data collection that takes 11 into account the differences between health care 12 practices among impacted individuals who are— 13 (A) members of the Armed Forces on ac- 14 tive duty or spouses or dependents of such 15 members; 16 (B) members of the Armed Forces sepa- 17 rating from active duty or spouses or depend- 18 ents of such members; 19 (C) veterans and other individuals with ac- 20 cess to health care from the Department of Vet- 21 erans Affairs; and 22 (D) individuals without access to health 23 care from the Department of Defense or the 24 Department of Veterans Affairs; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 4061 IH (4) a description of methodologies to analyze 1 data received from the study or studies to determine 2 possible connections between exposure to water con- 3 taminated during the Red Hill Incident and adverse 4 impacts to the health of impacted individuals; 5 (5) an identification of exposures resulting from 6 the Red Hill Incident that may qualify individuals to 7 be eligible for participation in the study or studies 8 as a result of those exposures; and 9 (6) steps that will be taken to provide individ- 10 uals impacted by the Red Hill Incident with infor- 11 mation on available resources and services. 12 (e) POTENTIALLY IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 14 Human Services may enlarge the scope of the study 15 or studies under subsection (a) to include potentially 16 impacted individuals based on— 17 (A) the request of a potentially impacted 18 individual, as applicable; 19 (B) the recommendation of the Secretary 20 of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 21 or any contracted party under subsection (b); 22 (C) the exposures identified in subsection 23 (d)(5); or 24 (D) other exigent circumstances. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 4061 IH (2) TREATMENT OF POTENTIALLY IMPACTED 1 INDIVIDUALS.—If, under paragraph (1), the Sec- 2 retary enlarges the scope of the study or studies 3 under subsection (a), potentially impacted individ- 4 uals shall be treated as impacted individuals for pur- 5 poses of this section. 6 (f) NOTIFICATIONS; BRIEFINGS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 8 the completion of the feasibility assessment under 9 subsection (d), and annually thereafter, the Sec- 10 retary of Health and Human Services shall— 11 (A) notify impacted individuals on the in- 12 terim findings of the study or studies; and 13 (B) brief the appropriate congressional 14 committees on the interim findings of the study 15 or studies. 16 (2) FINAL NOTIFICATION.—Upon completion of 17 the study or studies under subsection (a), the Sec- 18 retary of Health and Human Services shall notify 19 the appropriate congressional committees and all im- 20 pacted individuals of the completion of the study or 21 studies and the publication of the final report under 22 subsection (g)(2). 23 (g) REPORTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 4061 IH (1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 1 after the date of the commencement of the study or 2 studies under subsection (a), and annually there- 3 after, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 4 shall publish on the website of the Department of 5 Health and Human Services a report on the interim 6 findings of the study or studies. 7 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Upon completion of the 8 study or studies under subsection (a), the Secretary 9 of Health and Human Services— 10 (A) shall publish on a publicly available 11 internet website of the Department of Health 12 and Human Services a report on the findings of 13 the study or studies; and 14 (B) may publish such report in a scientific 15 publication. 16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 17 In this Act: 18 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 19 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 20 mittees’’ means— 21 (A) the Committee on Health, Education, 22 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 4061 IH (B) the Committee on Armed Services and 1 the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee 2 on Appropriations of the Senate; 3 (C) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 4 the Senate; 5 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com- 6 merce of the House of Representatives; 7 (E) the Committee on Armed Services and 8 the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee 9 on Appropriations of the House of Representa- 10 tives; and 11 (F) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 12 the House of Representatives. 13 (2) IMPACTED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘im- 14 pacted individual’’ means an individual who, at the 15 time of the Red Hill Incident, lived or worked in a 16 building or residence served by the community water 17 system at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Oahu, 18 Hawaii. 19 (3) RED HILL INCIDENT.—The term ‘‘Red Hill 20 Incident’’ means the release of fuel from the Red 21 Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, Oahu, Hawaii, into 22 the sole-source basal aquifer located 100 feet below 23 the facility, contaminating the community water sys- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 4061 IH tem at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Novem- 1 ber 20, 2021. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:35 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4061.IH H4061 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB