SEC. 3. SCIENTIFIC REVIEW OF ASSOCIATION OF INCI-
DENTS OF EXPOSURE TO OCCUPATIONAL 
AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CHEMICAL 
HAZARDS WITH HEALTH CONSEQUENCES. 
(a) AGREEMENT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense 
shall seek to enter into an agreement with the Insti-
tute of Medicine of the National Academies for the 
Institute of Medicine to perform the services covered 
by this section. 
(2) TIMING.—The Secretary shall seek to enter 
into the agreement described in paragraph (1) not 
later than 2 months after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
(b) REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE.—Under an 
agreement between the Secretary of Defense and the Insti-
tute of Medicine under this section, the Institute of Medi-
cine shall, for each incident of exposure involving one or 
more members of the Armed Forces reported in a registry 
established under section 2(a) to an occupational and envi-
ronmental health chemical hazard of particular concern, 
review and summarize the scientific evidence, and assess 
the strength thereof, concerning the association between 
the exposure to such hazard and acute and long-term 
health consequences of such exposure. 
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(c) SCIENTIFIC
DETERMINATIONS
CONCERNING 
HEALTH CONSEQUENCES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For each incident of expo-
sure reviewed under subsection (b), the Institute of 
Medicine shall determine (to the extent that avail-
able scientific data permit meaningful determina-
tions)— 
(A) whether a statistical association with 
the acute and long-term health consequences 
exists, taking into account the strength of the 
scientific evidence and the appropriateness of 
the statistical and epidemiological methods used 
to detect the association; and 
(B) whether there exists a plausible bio-
logical mechanism or other evidence of a causal 
relationship between the occupational and envi-
ronmental health chemical hazard and the 
health consequences. 
(2) DISCUSSION AND REASONING.—The Insti-
tute of Medicine shall include in its reports under 
subsection (f) a full discussion of the scientific evi-
dence and reasoning that led to its conclusions 
under this subsection. 
(d) RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR
ADDITIONAL
SCI-
ENTIFIC STUDIES.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Institute of Medicine 
shall make any recommendations it has for addi-
tional scientific studies to resolve areas of continuing 
scientific uncertainty relating to exposure to occupa-
tional and environmental health chemical hazards of 
particular concern. 
(2) 
CONSIDERATIONS.—In 
making 
rec-
ommendations for further study, the Institute of 
Medicine shall consider the following: 
(A) The scientific information that is cur-
rently available. 
(B) The value and relevance of the infor-
mation that could result from additional stud-
ies. 
(e) SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS.—The agreement under 
subsection (a) shall require the Institute of Medicine— 
(1) to conduct periodically as comprehensive a 
review as is practicable of the evidence referred to 
in subsection (b) that has become available since the 
last review of such evidence under this section; and 
(2) to make its determinations and estimates on 
the basis of the results of such review and all other 
reviews conducted for the purposes of this section. 
(f) REPORTS.— 
(1) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The agreement under 
subsection (a) shall require the Institute of 
Medicine to submit, not later than the end of 
the 18-month period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this Act and not less fre-
quently than once every 2 years thereafter, to 
the appropriate committees of Congress a re-
port on the activities of the Institute of Medi-
cine under the agreement. 
(B) CONTENTS.—The report described in 
subparagraph (A) shall include the following: 
(i) The determinations and discussion 
referred to in subsection (c). 
(ii) Any recommendations of the Insti-
tute of Medicine under subsection (d). 
(2) REPORTS TO SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.— 
The agreement under subsection (a) shall require 
the Institute of Medicine, in the case that the Insti-
tute of Medicine makes any conclusive determination 
under subsection (c)(1) with respect to any incident 
of exposure studied under subsection (b), to submit, 
not later than 30 days after the date of such deter-
mination, to the Secretary of Defense a report de-
scribing such determination. 
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(g) NOTICE TO MEMBERS AND FORMER MEMBERS 
OF THE ARMED FORCES.—The Secretary of Defense shall 
notify members and former members of the Armed Forces 
listed in a registry established under section 2(a) for expo-
sure to an occupational and environmental health chemical 
hazard of particular concern of— 
(1) any conclusive determinations made with re-
spect to such exposure under subsection (c)(1); and 
(2) any other significant developments in re-
search on the health consequences of exposure to 
such hazard. 
(h) LIMITATION
ON AUTHORITY.—The agreement 
under this section shall be effective for a fiscal year to 
the extent that appropriations are available to carry out 
the agreement. 
(i) SUNSET.—This section shall cease to be effective 
10 years after the last day of the fiscal year in which the 
Institute of Medicine submits to the Secretary of Defense 
the first report under subsection (f). 
(j) ALTERNATIVE CONTRACT SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZA-
TION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of Defense 
is unable within the time period prescribed in sub-
section (a)(2) to enter into an agreement described 
in subsection (a)(1) with the Institute of Medicine 
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