I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5599 
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a biennial 
study on the Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record program of the 
Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 15, 2021 
Ms. SHERRILL (for herself and Mr. GARBARINO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition 
to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to 
conduct a biennial study on the Individual Longitudinal 
Exposure Record program of the Department of Defense 
and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Burn Pit Program to 
Review Operations and Management of ILER System Ef-
ficacy Act’’ or the ‘‘Burn Pit PROMISE Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. GAO BIENNIAL STUDY ON INDIVIDUAL LONGITU-
DINAL EXPOSURE RECORD PROGRAM. 
(a) STUDIES AND REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later 
than December 31, 2022, and once every two years there-
after until December 31, 2030, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall— 
(1) conduct a study on the implementation and 
effectiveness of the Individual Longitudinal Expo-
sure Record program of the Department of Defense 
and the Department of Veterans Affairs; and 
(2) submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report containing the findings of the 
most recently conducted study. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The biennial studies under sub-
section (a) shall include an assessment of elements as fol-
lows: 
(1) INITIAL
STUDY.—The initial study con-
ducted under subsection (a) shall assess, at a min-
imum, the following: 
(A) Statistics relating to use of the Indi-
vidual Longitudinal Exposure Record program, 
including the total number of individuals the 
records of whom are contained therein and the 
total number of records accessible under the 
program. 
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(B) Costs associated with the program, in-
cluding any cost overruns associated with the 
program. 
(C) The capacity to expand the program to 
include the medical records of veterans who 
served prior to the establishment of the pro-
gram. 
(D) Any illness recently identified as relat-
ing to a toxic exposure (or any guidance relat-
ing to such an illness recently issued) by either 
the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs, including any such illness or 
guidance that relates to open burn pit exposure. 
(E) How the program has enabled (or 
failed to enable) the discovery, notification, and 
medical care of individuals affected by an illness 
described in subparagraph (D). 
(F) Physician and patient feedback on the 
program, particularly feedback that relates to 
ease of use. 
(G) Cybersecurity and privacy protections 
of patient data stored under the program, in-
cluding whether any classified or restricted data 
has been stored under the program (such as 
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data relating to deployment locations or duty 
stations). 
(H) Any technical or logistical impedi-
ments to the implementation or expansion of 
the program, including any impediments to the 
inclusion in the program of databases or mate-
rials originally intended to be included. 
(I) Any issues relating to read-only access 
to data under the program by veterans. 
(J) Any issues relating to the interoper-
ability of the program between the Department 
of Defense and the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs. 
(2) SUBSEQUENT
STUDIES.—Except as pro-
vided in paragraph (3), each study conducted under 
subsection (a) following the initial study specified in 
paragraph (1) shall assess— 
(A) statistics relating to use of the Indi-
vidual Longitudinal Exposure Record program, 
including the total number of individuals the 
records of whom are contained therein and the 
total number of records accessible under the 
program; and 
(B) such other elements as the Comptroller 
General determines appropriate, which may in-
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clude any other element specified in paragraph 
(1). 
(3) FINAL STUDY.—The final study conducted 
under subsection (a) shall assess— 
(A) the elements specified in subpara-
graphs (A), (B), (D), (E), (F), and (H) of 
paragraph (1); and 
(B) such other elements as the Comptroller 
General determines appropriate, which may in-
clude any other element specified in paragraph 
(1). 
(c) ACCESS BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.— 
(1) INFORMATION AND MATERIALS.—Upon re-
quest of the Comptroller General, the Secretary of 
Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
make available to the Comptroller General any infor-
mation or other materials necessary for the conduct 
of each biennial study under subsection (a). 
(2) INTERVIEWS.—In addition to such other au-
thorities as are available, the Comptroller General 
shall have the right to interview officials and em-
ployees of the Department of Defense and the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs (including clinicians, 
claims adjudicators, and researchers) as necessary 
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for the conduct of each biennial study under sub-
section (a). 
(3) 
INFORMATION
FROM
PATIENTS
AND 
FORMER PATIENTS.— 
(A) DEVELOPMENT OF QUESTIONNAIRE.— 
In carrying out each biennial study under sub-
section (a), the Comptroller General may de-
velop a questionnaire for individuals the records 
of whom are contained in the Individual Longi-
tudinal Exposure Record, to obtain the infor-
mation necessary for the conduct of the study. 
(B) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary con-
cerned shall ensure that any questionnaire de-
veloped pursuant to subparagraph (A) is dis-
tributed to individuals the records of whom are 
contained in the Individual Longitudinal Expo-
sure Record. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Armed Services and 
the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 
House of Representatives; and 
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(B) the Committee on Armed Services and 
the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen-
ate. 
(2) The term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 
(A) the Secretary of Defense, with respect 
to matters concerning the Department of De-
fense; and 
(B) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, with 
respect to matters concerning the Department 
of Veterans Affairs. 
Æ 
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