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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5324 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5324

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure veterans of secrecy 
oath programs receive the full benefits they have earned, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2024

Mr. Blumenthal introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure veterans of secrecy 
oath programs receive the full benefits they have earned, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Obligations to Aberdeen's Trusted 
Heroes Act of 2024'' or the ``OATH Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) From 1948 to 1975, more than 7,000 United States Army 
        personnel participated in a program under which they were 
        subjected to secret chemical warfare testing at Edgewood 
        Arsenal at Aberdeen Proving Ground, an Army base in Maryland.
            (2) Government-employed scientists, including former Nazi 
        Germany scientists, tested mustard agents, psychedelics, nerve 
        agents, and other dangerous chemicals on the Army members.
            (3) When the members of the Army entered the program at 
        Edgewood, they were sworn to secrecy--a violation of their oath 
        came with the threat of court-martial or criminal prosecution.
            (4) Upon leaving service in the Army, veterans of the 
        program could not seek benefits provided by the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs for disabilities relating to the program 
        without violating their secrecy oaths.
            (5) In 2006, the Department of Defense released the 
        veterans of the program from their secrecy oaths, allowing them 
        to apply for veterans' benefits.
            (6) Because the statute governing veterans' benefits 
        requires veterans to apply within one year of discharge to 
        receive retroactive benefits, veterans of the program could 
        only receive benefits beginning from the date of their 
        disability application.
            (7) By complying with their secrecy oaths, the veterans of 
        the program lost the ability to receive the full veterans' 
        benefits they earned.
            (8) Veterans of other secrecy oath programs may face the 
        same hurdles to obtaining benefits.
            (9) While some veterans of secrecy oath programs received 
        limited relief in the courts, there is uncertainty about the 
        scope of benefits available to those veterans.
            (10) Congress has the power and obligation to ensure that 
        heroes of the United States are not punished for upholding 
        their secrecy oaths.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF SECRECY OATH PROGRAM.

    Section 5100 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) The term `secrecy oath program' means a United States 
        Government program in which participants are required to sign a 
        non-disclosure agreement preventing the disclosure of any 
        information regarding the program under penalty of court-
        martial or criminal punishment.''.

SEC. 4. NOTICE TO VETERANS OF SECRECY OATH PROGRAMS REGARDING BENEFITS.

    (a) Notice Required.--
            (1) In general.--Section 6303 of title 38, United States 
        Code, is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) 
                as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the following 
                new subsection (c):
    ``(c) Notice to Veterans of Secrecy Oath Programs.--(1) Not later 
than 90 days after the date on which participants in a secrecy oath 
program are released from the oath taken under such program, the 
Secretary shall--
            ``(A) identify the veterans who participated in the 
        program;
            ``(B) notify each such veteran of all benefits and services 
        under laws administered by the Department for which the veteran 
        may be eligible; and
            ``(C) distribute the information described in subsection 
        (d)(1) as required by such subsection.
    ``(2) If the Secretary identifies any veterans who are entitled to 
notice under paragraph (1) and did not receive such notice, the 
Secretary shall, not later than 90 days after the date of any such 
identification--
            ``(A) notify each such veteran of all benefits and services 
        under laws administered by the Department for which the veteran 
        may be eligible; and
            ``(B) distribute the information described in subsection 
        (d)(1) as required by such subsection.
    ``(3) In this subsection, the term `secrecy oath program' has the 
meaing given that term in section 5100 of this title.''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--Section 6303 of such title is 
        further amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``through (d)'' 
                and inserting ``through (e)''; and
                    (B) in subsection (e), as redesignated by 
                subsection (a)(1)(A), by striking ``subsections (b) and 
                (c)'' and inserting ``subsections (b), (c), and (d)''.
    (b) Edgewood Arsenal Program.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall--
            (1) identify the veterans who participated in the secrecy 
        oath program at Edgewood Arsenal at Aberdeen Proving Ground, 
        Maryland, at any time during the period beginning on January 1, 
        1948, and ending on December 31, 1975;
            (2) notify each such veteran of all benefits and services 
        under laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs 
        for which the veteran may be eligible; and
            (3) distribute the information described in section 
        6303(d)(1) of title 38, United States Code, as amended by 
        subsection (a), as required by such section.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATES OF AWARDS OF DISABILITY COMPENSATION FOR 
              PARTICIPANTS IN SECRECY OATH PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 5110(b) of title 38, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(5)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the effective date 
of an award of disability compensation to a veteran who participated in 
a secrecy oath program shall be the day following the date of the 
veteran's discharge or release if--
            ``(i) application therefor is received on or before the 
        date that is one year after the date on which notice is sent to 
        the veteran pursuant to--
                    ``(I) section 6303(c) of this title; or
                    ``(II) section 4(b)(2) of the Obligations to 
                Aberdeen's Trusted Heroes Act of 2024; and
            ``(ii) the disability for which compensation is sought was 
        incurred or aggravated in line of duty in the active military, 
        naval, air, or space service while participating in such 
        secrecy oath program.
    ``(B)(i) The effective date of an award of disability compensation 
to a veteran described in clause (ii) shall be the day of receipt of 
the application therefor.
    ``(ii) A veteran described in this clause is a veteran who--
            ``(I) participated in the secrecy oath program at Edgewood 
        Arsenal at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, at any time 
        during the period beginning on January 1, 1948, and ending on 
        December 31, 1975; and
            ``(II) submits to the Secretary an application for 
        disability compensation for a disability that was incurred or 
        aggravated in line of duty in the active military, naval, air, 
        or space service while participating in such secrecy oath 
        program after the date that is one year after the date on which 
        notice is sent to the veteran pursuant to section 4(b)(2) of 
        the Obligations to Aberdeen's Trusted Heroes Act of 2024.''.
    (b) Effective Date and Applicability.--
            (1) In general.--Paragraph (5) of section 5110(b) of such 
        title, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on the 
        date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to claims for 
        disability compensation received on, before, or after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Modification of prior awards.--Not later than 90 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs shall review all awards made by the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs on or before the date of the enactment of 
        this Act of compensation under chapter 11 of such title to 
        veterans for a disability that was incurred or aggravated in 
        line of duty in the active military, naval, air, or space 
        service while participating in a secrecy oath program (as 
        defined in section 5100 of such title) and adjust such awards 
        of compensation such that the claim for such compensation is 
        treated as if--
                    (A) paragraph (5)(A) of section 5110(b) of such 
                title, as added by subsection (a), were in effect on 
                the date of the filing of the claim for the 
                compensation; and
                    (B) application for such compensation was received 
                in compliance with clause (i) of such paragraph.
                                 <all>
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