Veterans Affairs shall establish an advisory board (in this 
section referred to as the ‘‘Advisory Board’’)— 
(1) to advise the National Center established 
under section 3; 
(2) to determine which health conditions result 
from exposure to toxic substances; and 
(3) to study and evaluate cases of exposure of 
current and former members of the Armed Forces to 
toxic substances if such exposure is related the serv-
ice of the member in the Armed Forces. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) COMPOSITION.—Not later than 120 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs shall, in consultation with 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
Director of the National Institute of Environmental 
Health Sciences, and other heads of Federal agen-
cies as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines 
appropriate, select not less than 13 members of the 
Advisory Board, of whom— 
(A) not less than three shall be members 
of organizations exempt from taxation under 
section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986; 
(B) not less than one shall be— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:13 Sep 23, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5484.IH
H5484
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(i) a descendant of an individual who 
was exposed to toxic substances while serv-
ing as a member of the Armed Forces and 
the descendant has manifested a birth de-
fect or functional disability as a result of 
the exposure of that individual; or 
(ii) a parent, child, or grandchild of 
that descendant; and 
(C) additional members may be selected 
from among— 
(i) health professionals, scientists, and 
academics with expertise in— 
(I) birth defects; 
(II) developmental disabilities; 
(III) epigenetics; 
(IV) public health; 
(V) the science of environmental 
exposure or environmental exposure 
assessment; 
(VI) the science of toxic sub-
stances; or 
(VII) medical and research eth-
ics; 
(ii) social workers; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:13 Sep 23, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5484.IH
H5484
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(iii) advocates for veterans or mem-
bers of the Armed Forces. 
(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary shall select 
a Chairperson from among the members of the Advi-
sory Board. 
(3) TERMS.—Each member of the Advisory 
Board shall serve a term of two or three years as 
determined by the Secretary. 
(c) DUTIES.— 
(1) ADVISORY ROLE WITH RESPECT TO THE 
NATIONAL CENTER.—With respect to the National 
Center established under section 3, the Advisory 
Board shall— 
(A) oversee and assess the work of the Na-
tional Center; and 
(B) advise the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs on— 
(i) issues related to the research con-
ducted at the National Center; and 
(ii) the particular benefits and serv-
ices required by the descendants of individ-
uals exposed to toxic substances while serv-
ing as members of the Armed Forces. 
(2) DETERMINATION
THAT
HEALTH
CONDI-
TIONS RESULTED FROM TOXIC EXPOSURE.—The Ad-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:13 Sep 23, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5484.IH
H5484
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
visory Board shall determine which health conditions 
in descendants of individuals exposed to toxic sub-
stances while serving as members of the Armed 
Forces are health conditions that resulted from the 
exposure of that individual to that toxic substance 
for purposes of eligibility of those descendants for 
medical care under section 1781 of title 38, United 
States Code. 
(3) STUDY AND CONSIDERATION OF TOXIC SUB-
STANCE EXPOSURE CLAIMS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Advisory Board 
shall study and evaluate claims of exposure to 
toxic substances by current and former mem-
bers of the Armed Forces that is related to the 
service of the member in the Armed Forces. 
(B) SUBMISSION
OF
CLAIMS.—Claims of 
exposure described in subparagraph (A) may be 
submitted to the Advisory Board in such form 
and in such manner as the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs may require by any of the fol-
lowing individuals or entities: 
(i) A member of the Armed Forces. 
(ii) A veteran. 
(iii) A descendant of a member of the 
Armed Forces. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:13 Sep 23, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5484.IH
H5484
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(iv) A descendant of a veteran. 
(v) A veterans advocacy group. 
(vi) An official of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs with responsibility or ex-
perience monitoring the health of current 
and former members of the Armed Forces. 
(vii) An official of the Department of 
Defense with responsibility or experience 
monitoring the health of current and 
former members of the Armed Forces. 
(C) CONSIDERATION
OF
CLAIMS.—Not 
later than 180 days after receiving a claim sub-
mitted pursuant to subparagraph (B), the Advi-
sory Board shall consider the claim and take 
one of the following actions: 
(i) If the Advisory Board determines 
that exposure to a toxic substance occurred 
to a degree that an individual exposed to 
that substance may have or develop a med-
ical condition that would qualify that indi-
vidual for health care or compensation 
from the Department of Veterans Affairs 
or the Department of Defense, the Advi-
sory Board shall submit to the Secretary of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:13 Sep 23, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5484.IH
H5484
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Veterans Affairs a report described in sub-
paragraph (D). 
(ii) If the Advisory Board determines 
that further consideration of the claim is 
necessary to adequately assess the extent 
of exposure, the Advisory Board shall refer 
the claim to the National Center estab-
lished under section 3 to conduct further 
research and report its findings to the Ad-
visory Board. 
(iii) If the Advisory Board determines 
that exposure to a toxic substance did not 
occur, the Advisory Board shall report 
such determination to the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs. 
(D) REPORT.—If the Advisory Board 
makes a determination under subparagraph 
(C)(i), the Advisory Board shall submit to the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs a report that con-
tains the following: 
(i) Evidence used by the Advisory 
Board in making the determination under 
subparagraph (C)(i), including, if appro-
priate, the following: 
(I) Scientific research. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:13 Sep 23, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5484.IH
H5484
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS