I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2237 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans to establish within the Department 

of Veterans Affairs a center of excellence in the prevention, diagnosis, 

mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of health conditions relating 

to exposure to burn pits. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 5, 2015 

Ms. ESTY (for herself and Mr. MCDERMOTT) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans to establish within the 

Department of Veterans Affairs a center of excellence 

in the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and 

rehabilitation of health conditions relating to exposure 

to burn pits. 

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 ‘‘Helping Veterans Ex5 posed to Burn Pits Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN PREVENTION, DIAG2 NOSIS, MITIGATION, TREATMENT, AND REHA3 BILITATION OF HEALTH CONDITIONS RELAT4 ING TO EXPOSURE TO BURN PITS AND OTHER 

5 ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans 

7 Affairs shall establish within the Department of Veterans 

8 Affairs a center of excellence in the prevention, diagnosis, 

9 mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of health condi10 tions relating to exposure to burn pits and other environ11 mental exposures to carry out the responsibilities specified 

12 in subsection (d). Such center shall be established using— 

13 (1) the directives, policies, and Comptroller 

14 General and Inspector General recommendations in 

15 effect as of the date of the enactment of this Act; 

16 and 

17 (2) guidance issued pursuant to section 313 of 

18 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

19 Year 2013 (Public Law 112–239; 126 Stat. 1692; 

20 10 U.S.C. 1074 note). 

21 (b) SELECTION OF SITES.—In selecting the site for 

22 the center of excellence established under subsection (a), 

23 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall consider entities 

24 that— 

25 (1) are equipped with the specialized equipment 

26 needed to study, diagnose, and treat health condiVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:25 May 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2237.IH H2237

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1 tions relating to exposure to burn pits and other en2 vironmental exposures; 

3 (2) have a publication track record of post-de4 ployment health exposures among veterans who 

5 served in the Armed Forces in support of Operation 

6 Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; 

7 (3) have collaborated with a geosciences depart8 ment that has a medical geology division; 

9 (4) have developed animal models and in vitro 

10 models of dust immunology and lung injury con11 sistent with the injuries of members of the Armed 

12 Forces who served in support of Operation Iraqi 

13 Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; and 

14 (5) have expertise in allergy and immunology, 

15 pulmonary diseases, and industrial and management 

16 engineering. 

17 (c) COLLABORATION.—The Secretary shall ensure 

18 that the center of excellence collaborates, to the maximum 

19 extent practicable, with the Secretary of Defense, institu20 tions of higher education, and other appropriate public 

21 and private entities (including international entities) to 

22 carry out the responsibilities specified in subsection (d). 

23 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The center of excellence 

24 shall have the following responsibilities: 


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1 (1) To provide for the development, testing, and 

2 dissemination within the Department of Veterans 

3 Affairs of best practices for the treatment of health 

4 conditions relating to exposure to burn pits and 

5 other environmental exposures. 

6 (2) To provide guidance for the health system 

7 of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the De8 partment of Defense in determining the personnel 

9 required to provide quality health care for members 

10 of the Armed Forces and veterans with health condi11 tions relating to exposure to burn pits and other en12 vironmental exposures. 

13 (3) To establish, implement, and oversee a com14 prehensive program to train health professionals of 

15 the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Depart16 ment of Defense in the treatment of health condi17 tions relating to exposure to burn pits and other en18 vironmental exposures. 

19 (4) To facilitate advancements in the study of 

20 the short-term and long-term effects of exposure to 

21 burn pits and other environmental exposures. 

22 (5) To disseminate within the military medical 

23 treatment facilities of the Department of Veterans 

24 Affairs best practices for training health profes25 sionals with respect to health conditions relating to 


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1 exposure to burn pits and other environmental expo2 sures. 

3 (6) To conduct basic science and translational 

4 research on health conditions relating to exposure to 

5 burn pits and other environmental exposures for the 

6 purposes of understanding the etiology of such con7 ditions and developing preventive interventions and 

8 new treatments. 

9 (7) To provide medical treatment to all veterans 

10 identified as part of the burn pits registry estab11 lished under section 201 of the Dignified Burial and 

12 Other Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 

13 (Public Law 112–260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note). 

14 (e) USE OF BURN PITS REGISTRY DATA.—In car15 rying out its responsibilities under subsection (d), the cen16 ter shall have access to and make use of the data accumu17 lated by the burn pits registry established under section 

18 201 of the Dignified Burial and Other Veterans’ Benefits 

19 Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–260; 38 

20 U.S.C. 527 note). 

21 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) The term ‘‘burn pit’’ means an area of land 

23 located in Afghanistan or Iraq that— 


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1 (A) is designated by the Secretary of De2 fense to be used for disposing solid waste by 

3 burning in the outdoor air; and 

4 (B) does not contain a commercially manu5 factured incinerator or other equipment specifi6 cally designed and manufactured for the burn7 ing of solid waste. 

8 (2) The term ‘‘other environmental exposures’’ 

9 means exposure to environmental hazards, including 

10 burn pits, dust or sand, hazardous materials, and 

11 waste at any site in Afghanistan or Iraq that emits 

12 smoke containing pollutants present in the environ13 ment or smoke from fires or explosions. 

14 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

16 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2021. 

Æ 


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