I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2601 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to notify Congress regularly 

of reported cases of burn pit exposure by veterans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 15, 2021 

Mr. RYAN (for himself, Mr. MAST, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. VELA, Mrs. HAYES, and Mr. ZELDIN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to notify Congress regularly of reported cases of burn pit exposure 

by veterans, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SFC Heath Robinson 

5 Burn Pit Transparency Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NOTIFICATIONS AND REPORTS REGARDING RE7 PORTED CASES OF BURN PIT EXPOSURE. 

8 (a) QUARTERLY NOTIFICATIONS.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2601 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—On a quarterly basis, the 

2 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the ap3 propriate congressional committees a report on each 

4 reported case of burn pit exposure by a covered vet5 eran reported during the previous quarter. 

6 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report submitted under 

7 paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to each re8 ported case of burn pit exposure of a covered vet9 eran included in the report, the following: 

10 (A) Notice of the case, including the med11 ical facility at which the case was reported. 

12 (B) Notice of, as available— 

13 (i) the enrollment status of the cov14 ered veteran with respect to the patient en15 rollment system of the Department of Vet16 erans Affairs under section 1705(a) of title 

17 38, United States Code; 

18 (ii) a summary of all health care visits 

19 by the covered veteran at the medical facil20 ity at which the case was reported that are 

21 related to the case; 

22 (iii) the demographics of the covered 

23 veteran, including age, sex, and race; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2601 IH

1 (iv) any non-Department of Veterans 

2 Affairs health care benefits that the cov3 ered veteran receives; 

4 (v) the Armed Force in which the cov5 ered veteran served and the rank of the 

6 covered veteran; 

7 (vi) the period in which the covered 

8 veteran served; 

9 (vii) each location of an open burn pit 

10 from which the covered veteran was ex11 posed to toxic airborne chemicals and 

12 fumes during such service; 

13 (viii) the medical diagnoses of the cov14 ered veteran and the treatment provided to 

15 the veteran; and 

16 (ix) whether the covered veteran is 

17 registered in the Airborne Hazards and 

18 Open Burn Pit Registry. 

19 (3) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec20 retary shall ensure that the reports submitted under 

21 paragraph (1) do not include the identity of covered 

22 veterans or contain other personally identifiable 

23 data. 

24 (b) ANNUAL REPORT ON CASES.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2601 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an3 nually thereafter, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 

4 in collaboration with the Secretary of Defense, shall 

5 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

6 a report detailing the following: 

7 (A) The total number of covered veterans. 

8 (B) The total number of claims for dis9 ability compensation under chapter 11 of title 

10 38, United States Code, approved and the total 

11 number denied by the Secretary of Veterans Af12 fairs with respect to a covered veteran, and for 

13 each such denial, the rationale of the denial. 

14 (C) A comprehensive list of— 

15 (i) the conditions for which covered 

16 veterans seek treatment; and 

17 (ii) the locations of the open burn pits 

18 from which the covered veterans were ex19 posed to toxic airborne chemicals and 

20 fumes. 

21 (D) Identification of any illnesses relating 

22 to exposure to open burn pits that formed the 

23 basis for the Secretary to award benefits, in24 cluding entitlement to service connection or an 

25 increase in disability rating. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2601 IH

1 (E) The total number of covered veterans 

2 who died after seeking care for an illness relat3 ing to exposure to an open burn pit. 

4 (F) Any updates or trends with respect to 

5 the information described in subparagraphs (A), 

6 (B), (C), (D), and (E) that the Secretary deter7 mines appropriate. 

8 (2) MATTERS INCLUDED IN FIRST REPORT.— 

9 The Secretary shall include in the first report under 

10 paragraph (1) information specified in subsection 

11 (a)(2) with respect to reported cases of burn pit ex12 posure made during the period beginning January 1, 

13 1990, and ending on the day before the date of the 

14 enactment of this Act. 

15 (c) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION AFTER DEATH AND

16 PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING OPEN BURN

17 PIT REGISTRY.—Section 201(a) of the Dignified Burial 

18 and Other Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 

19 (Public Law 112–260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note) is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: 

21 ‘‘(3) REPORTING OF INFORMATION AFTER

22 DEATH.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

23 permit a survivor of a deceased veteran to report to 

24 the registry under paragraph (1) the exposure of the 

25 veteran to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2601 IH

1 caused by an open burn pit, even if such veteran was 

2 not included in the registry before their death. 

3 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION REGARDING REGISTRY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.—The Secretary of Veterans 

5 Affairs shall ensure that a medical professional 

6 of the Department of Veterans Affairs informs 

7 a veteran of the registry under paragraph (1) 

8 if the veteran presents at a medical facility of 

9 the Department for treatment that the veteran 

10 describes as being related to, or ancillary to, the 

11 exposure of the veteran to toxic airborne chemi12 cals and fumes caused by open burn pits. 

13 ‘‘(B) DISPLAY.—In making information 

14 public regarding the number of participants in 

15 the registry under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

16 shall display such numbers by both State and 

17 by congressional district.’’. 

18 (d) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT.—Not later 

19 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

20 the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 

21 to the appropriate congressional committees a report con22 taining an assessment of the effectiveness of any memo23 randum of understanding or memorandum of agreement 

24 entered into by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with re25 spect to— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2601 IH

1 (1) the processing of reported cases of burn pit 

2 exposure; and 

3 (2) the coordination of care and provision of 

4 health care relating to such cases at medical facili5 ties of the Department of Veterans Affairs and at 

6 non-Department facilities. 

7 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) The term ‘‘Airborne Hazards and Open 

9 Burn Pit Registry’’ means the registry established 

10 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under section 

11 201 of the Dignified Burial and Other Veterans’ 

12 Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 

13 112–260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note). 

14 (2) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com15 mittees’’ means— 

16 (A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

17 and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

18 Senate; and 

19 (B) The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

20 and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

21 House of Representatives. 

22 (3) The term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a vet23 eran who presents at a medical facility of the De24 partment of Veterans Affairs (or in a non-Depart25 ment facility pursuant to section 1703 or 1703A of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2601 IH

1 title 38, United States Code) for treatment that the 

2 veteran describes as being related to, or ancillary to, 

3 the exposure of the veteran to toxic airborne chemi4 cals and fumes caused by open burn pits at any time 

5 while serving in the Armed Forces. 

6 (4) The term ‘‘open burn pit’’ has the meaning 

7 given that term in section 201(c) of the Dignified 

8 Burial and Other Veterans’ Benefits Improvement 

9 Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–260; 38 U.S.C. 527 

10 note). 

11 (5) The term ‘‘reported case of burn pit expo12 sure’’ means each instance in which a veteran pre13 sents at a medical facility of the Department of Vet14 erans Affairs (or in a non-Department facility pur15 suant to section 1703 or 1703A of title 38, United 

16 States Code) for treatment that the veteran de17 scribes as being related to, or ancillary to, the expo18 sure of the veteran to toxic airborne chemicals and 

19 fumes caused by open burn pits at any time while 

20 serving in the Armed Forces. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS