of evidence of such disease during the period of such serv-
ice. 
‘‘(b) EXPOSURE.—A veteran who, during active mili-
tary, naval, or air service, served offshore of the Republic 
of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 
1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, shall be presumed to 
have been exposed during such service to an herbicide 
agent unless there is affirmative evidence to establish that 
the veteran was not exposed to any such agent during that 
service. 
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE OF AWARD.—(1) Except as 
provided by paragraph (2), the effective date of an award 
under this section shall be determined in accordance with 
section 5110 of this title. 
‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding subsection (g) of section 
5110 of this title, the Secretary shall determine the effec-
tive date of an award based on a claim under this section 
for an individual described in subparagraph (B) by treat-
ing the date on which the individual filed the prior claim 
specified in clause (i) of such subparagraph as the date 
on which the individual filed the claim so awarded under 
this section. 
‘‘(B) An individual described in this subparagraph is 
a veteran, or a survivor of a veteran, who meets the fol-
lowing criteria: 
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‘‘(i) The veteran or survivor submitted a claim 
for disability compensation on or after September 
25, 1985, and before January 1, 2020, for a disease 
covered by this section, and the claim was denied by 
reason of the claim not establishing that the disease 
was incurred or aggravated by the service of the vet-
eran. 
‘‘(ii) The veteran or survivor submits a claim 
for disability compensation on or after January 1, 
2020, for the same condition covered by the prior 
claim under clause (i), and the claim is approved 
pursuant to this section. 
‘‘(d) DETERMINATION
OF
OFFSHORE.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, for purposes of this 
section, the Secretary shall treat a location as being off-
shore of Vietnam if the location is not more than 12 nau-
tical miles seaward of a line commencing on the south-
western demarcation line of the waters of Vietnam and 
Cambodia and intersecting the following points: 
‘‘Points Geographic Names 
Latitude 
North 
Longitude 
East 
At Hon Nhan Island, Tho Chu Archipelago 
Kien Giang Province 
9°15.0′ 
103°27.0′ 
At Hon Da Island southeast of Hon Khoai 
Island Minh Hai Province 
8°22.8′ 
104°52.4′ 
At Tai Lon Islet, Con Dao Islet in Con Dao- 
Vung Toa Special Sector 
8°37.8′ 
106°37.5′ 
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‘‘Points Geographic Names 
Latitude 
North 
Longitude 
East 
At Bong Lai Islet, Con Dao Islet 
8°38.9′ 
106°40.3′ 
At Bay Canh Islet, Con Dao Islet 
8°39.7′ 
106°42.1′ 
At Hon Hai Islet (Phu Qui group of islands) 
Thuan Hai Province 
9°58.0′ 
109°5.0′ 
At Hon Doi Islet, Thuan Hai Province 
12°39.0′ 
109°28.0′ 
At Dai Lanh point, Phu Khanh Province 
12°53.8′ 
109°27.2′ 
At Ong Can Islet, Phu Khanh Province 
13°54.0′ 
109°21.0′ 
At Ly Son Islet, Nghia Binh Province 
15°23.1′ 
109° 9.0′ 
At Con Co Island, Binh Tri Thien Province 
17°10.0′ 
107°20.6′ 
‘‘(e) HERBICIDE AGENT.—In this section, the term 
‘herbicide agent’ has the meaning given that term in sec-
tion 1116 (a)(3) of this title.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 1116 the following new 
item: 
‘‘1116A. Presumptions of service connection for veterans who served offshore of 
the Republic of Vietnam.’’. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 
(1) GUIDANCE.—Notwithstanding section 501 
of such title, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may 
issue guidance to implement section 1116A of title 
38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a). 
(2) UPDATES.—On a quarterly basis during the 
period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
this Act and ending on the date on which regula-
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tions are prescribed to carry out such section 
1116A, the Secretary shall submit to the Commit-
tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Represent-
atives and the Senate updates on the status of such 
regulations. 
(3) PENDING CASES.— 
(A) AUTHORITY TO STAY.—The Secretary 
may stay a claim described in subparagraph 
(B) until the date on which the Secretary com-
mences the implementation of such section 
1116A. 
(B) CLAIMS
DESCRIBED.—A claim de-
scribed in this subparagraph is a claim for dis-
ability compensation— 
(i) relating to the service and diseases 
covered by such section 1116A; and 
(ii) that is pending at the Veterans 
Benefits Administration or the Board of 
Veterans’ Appeals on or after the date of 
the enactment of this Act and before the 
date on which the Secretary commences 
the implementation of such section 1116A. 
(d) OUTREACH.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall conduct outreach to inform veterans de-
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scribed in paragraph (2) of the ability to submit a 
claim for disability compensation under section 
1116A of title 38, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (a). 
(2) VETERAN DESCRIBED.—A veteran described 
in this paragraph is a veteran who, during active 
military, naval, or air service, served offshore of the 
Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on 
January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975. 
(e) REPORTS.—Not later than January 1, 2020, and 
not later than January 1, 2022, the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-
fairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 
report on claims for disability compensation under section 
1116A of title 38, United States Code, as added by sub-
section (a). Each report shall include the following with 
respect to the period covered by the report, disaggregated 
by the regional offices of the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs: 
(1) The number of claims filed under such sec-
tion. 
(2) The number of such claims granted. 
(3) The number of such claims denied. 
(f) HEALTH CARE.—Section 1710(e)(4) of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘(including 
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