on terms acceptable to the Secretary, the Secretary 
shall seek to enter into such an agreement with an-
other appropriate scientific organization that— 
(A) is not part of the Government; 
(B) operates as a not-for-profit entity; and 
(C) has expertise and objectivity com-
parable to that of the Institute of Medicine. 
(2) TREATMENT.—If the Secretary enters into 
an agreement with another organization as described 
in paragraph (1), any reference in this section to the 
Institute of Medicine shall be treated as a reference 
to the other organization. 
(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) 
APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES
OF
CON-
GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con-
gress’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the Com-
mittee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the Com-
mittee on Appropriations of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
(2) 
OCCUPATIONAL
AND
ENVIRONMENTAL 
HEALTH CHEMICAL HAZARD OF PARTICULAR CON-
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CERN.—The term ‘‘occupational and environmental 
health chemical hazard of particular concern’’ means 
an occupational and environmental health chemical 
hazard that the Secretary of Defense determines is 
of particular concern after considering appropriate 
guidelines and standards for exposure, including the 
following: 
(A) The military exposure guidelines speci-
fied in the January 2002 Chemical Exposure 
Guidelines for Deployed Military Personnel, 
United States Army Center for Health Pro-
motion and Preventive Medicine Technical 
Guide 230 (or any successor technical guide 
that establishes military exposure guidelines for 
the assessment of the significance of field expo-
sures to occupational and environmental health 
chemical hazards during deployments). 
(B) Occupational and environmental health 
chemical exposure standards promulgated by 
the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis-
tration. 
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SEC. 4. REVISION IN AUTHORITIES FOR PROVISION OF 
HEALTH CARE FOR CERTAIN VETERANS EX-
POSED TO OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRON-
MENTAL HEALTH CHEMICAL HAZARDS. 
(a) 
AUTHORIZED
INPATIENT
CARE.—Section 
1710(e) of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(F) A veteran who was exposed in the line of duty 
to an occupational and environmental health chemical haz-
ard of particular concern is eligible (subject to paragraph 
(2)) for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home 
care under subsection (a)(2)(F) for any disability, not-
withstanding that there is insufficient medical evidence to 
conclude that such disability may be associated with such 
exposure.’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(C) In the case of a veteran described in paragraph 
(1)(F), hospital care, medical services, and nursing home 
care may not be provided under subsection (a)(2)(F) with 
respect to— 
‘‘(i) a disability that is found, in accordance 
with guidelines issued by the Under Secretary for 
Health, to have resulted from a cause other than an 
exposure described in paragraph (1)(F); or 
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‘‘(ii) a health effect for which the National 
Academy of Sciences, in a report issued in accord-
ance with section 3 of the Health Care for Members 
of the Armed Forces Exposed to Chemical Hazards 
Act of 2009, has determined that there is limited or 
suggestive evidence of the lack of a positive associa-
tion between occurrence of the health consequences 
in humans and exposure to an occupational and en-
vironmental health chemical hazard of particular 
concern.’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(C) The term ‘occupational and environmental 
health chemical hazard of particular concern’ means 
an occupational and environmental health chemical 
hazard that the Secretary of Defense determines is 
of particular concern after considering appropriate 
guidelines and standards for exposure, including the 
following: 
‘‘(i) The military exposure guidelines speci-
fied in the January 2002 Chemical Exposure 
Guidelines for Deployed Military Personnel, 
United States Army Center for Health Pro-
motion and Preventive Medicine Technical 
Guide 230 (or any successor technical guide 
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that establishes military exposure guidelines for 
the assessment of the significance of field expo-
sures to occupational and environmental health 
chemical hazards during deployments). 
‘‘(ii) 
Occupational 
and 
environmental 
health chemical exposure standards promul-
gated by the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 1710(e)(4) 
of such title is amended in the matter before subparagraph 
(A) by striking ‘‘For purposes of this subsection—’’ and 
inserting ‘‘In this subsection:’’. 
Æ 
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