I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2568 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to study and report on the 

prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma in veterans of the Vietnam era, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2019 

Mr. ZELDIN (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. THOMPSON of 

California, Mr. KING of New York, Miss RICE of New York, and Ms. 

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

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to study and 

report on the prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma in veterans of the Vietnam era, 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 ‘‘Vietnam Veterans 

5 Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STUDY ON THE PREVALENCE OF CHOLANGIOCARCI2 NOMA IN VETERANS OF THE VIETNAM ERA. 

3 (a) EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY.—Not later than 120 

4 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

5 of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Director of 

6 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the De7 partment of Health and Human Services, shall commence 

8 an epidemiological study on the prevalence of cholangio9 carcinoma in veterans of the Vietnam era, using data from 

10 the Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry and the Na11 tional Program of Cancer Registries. The study shall— 

12 (1) identify the rate of incidence of cholangio13 carcinoma in veterans of the Vietnam era and in 

14 residents of the United States, from the beginning 

15 of the Vietnam era to the date of enactment of this 

16 Act; and 

17 (2) for each of the groups specified in para18 graph (1), identify the percentage of individuals with 

19 cholangiocarcinoma by various demographic charac20 teristics, including by age, gender, race, ethnicity, 

21 and the geographic location of the patient at the 

22 time of diagnosis. 

23 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one year 

24 after the completion of the study under subsection (a), the 

25 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing— 


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1 (1) the results of the study under subsection 

2 (a); and 

3 (2) recommendations for administrative or leg4 islative actions required to address issues identified 

5 in the study under subsection (a). 

6 (c) CONTINUED TRACKING OF

7 CHOLANGIOCARCINOMA IN VETERANS OF THE VIETNAM

8 ERA.—The Secretary shall track the prevalence of 

9 cholangiocarcinoma in veterans of the Vietnam era using 

10 the Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry, and provide 

11 such information to Congress as required under subsection 

12 (d). 

13 (d) FOLLOW-UP REPORTS.—The Secretary shall pe14 riodically submit to the Congress an updated report under 

15 subsection (b), as determined by the Secretary. 

16 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

18 of Veterans Affairs. 

19 (2) The term ‘‘Vietnam era’’ has the meaning 

20 given such term in section 101 of title 38, United 

21 States Code. 

22 (3) The term ‘‘veterans of the Vietnam era’’ 

23 has the meaning given such term in section 4211 of 

24 title 38, United States Code. 

Æ 


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