I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3337 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish an open burn pit 

registry to ensure that members of the Armed Forces who may have 

been exposed to toxic chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits 

while deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq receive information regarding 

such exposure, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 3, 2011 

Mr. AKIN (for himself, Mr. KISSELL, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. BARTLETT, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, 

Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. OWENS, Mr. HANNA, 

Mr. PEARCE, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. LONG, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. 

LATHAM, and Mr. FRANKS of Arizona) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish an 

open burn pit registry to ensure that members of the 

Armed Forces who may have been exposed to toxic 

chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits while 

deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq receive information regarding such exposure, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Open Burn Pit Reg3 istry Act of 2011’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF REGISTRY. 

5 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 

7 (1) establish and maintain an open burn pit 

8 registry for eligible individuals who may have been 

9 exposed to toxic chemicals and fumes caused by open 

10 burn pits; 

11 (2) include any information in such registry 

12 that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines 

13 necessary to ascertain and monitor the health effects 

14 of the exposure of members of the Armed Forces to 

15 toxic chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits; 

16 (3) develop a public information campaign to 

17 inform eligible individuals about the open burn pit 

18 registry, including how to register and the benefits 

19 of registering; and 

20 (4) periodically notify eligible individuals of sig21 nificant developments in the study and treatment of 

22 conditions associated with exposure to toxic chemi23 cals and fumes caused by open burn pits. 

24 SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

25 (a) REPORT BY INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC ORGANI26 ZATION.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter 


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1 into an agreement with an independent scientific organiza2 tion to develop a report containing the following: 

3 (1) An assessment of the effectiveness of ac4 tions taken by the Secretaries to collect and main5 tain information on the health effects of exposure to 

6 toxic chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits. 

7 (2) Recommendations to improve the collection 

8 and maintenance of such information. 

9 (3) Using established and previously published 

10 epidemiological studies, recommendations regarding 

11 the most effective and prudent means of addressing 

12 the medical needs of eligible individuals with respect 

13 to conditions that are likely to result from exposure 

14 to open burn pits. 

15 (b) SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

16 months after the date on which the registry under section 

17 2 is established, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

18 submit to Congress the report developed under subsection 

19 (a). 

20 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

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

23 of land 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 ‘‘eligible individual’’ means any 

9 individual who, on or after September 11, 2001— 

10 (A) was deployed in support of a contin11 gency operation while serving in the Armed 

12 Forces; and 

13 (B) during such deployment, was based or 

14 stationed at a location where an open burn pit 

15 was used. 

Æ 


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