the Department in connection with other health 
conditions or benefits to which the individual is 
entitled under laws administered by the Sec-
retary. 
(D) RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR
FUTURE 
TREATMENT.—Recommendations 
for 
future 
treatment of a patient shall be transmitted to 
a primary care provider for that patient, with 
follow-up consultations with the Center sched-
uled as appropriate. 
(E) USE OF RECORDS.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of 
Defense or the head of a Federal agency 
may make available to the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs for review records held by 
the Department of Defense, an Armed 
Force, or that Federal agency, as appro-
priate, that might assist the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs in making the determina-
tions required by subparagraph (A). 
(ii) MECHANISM.—The Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of De-
fense or the head of the appropriate Fed-
eral agency may jointly establish a mecha-
nism for the availability and review of 
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records by the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs under clause (i). 
(2) RESEARCH.—The Center may conduct re-
search on the diagnosis and treatment of health con-
ditions of descendants of individuals exposed to toxic 
substances while serving as members of the Armed 
Forces that are related to that exposure. 
(3) AGENT ORANGE CONDITIONS.—The Center, 
in coordination with the National Birth Defect Reg-
istry, shall track and research the genetic link be-
tween individuals who are exposed to Agent Orange 
and the medical conditions of the children of such 
individuals. 
(c) SOCIAL WORKERS.—The Center shall employ not 
less than one licensed clinical social worker to coordinate 
access of patients to appropriate Federal, State, and local 
social and healthcare programs and to handle case man-
agement. 
(d) REIMBURSEMENT FOR NECESSARY TRAVEL AND 
ROOM AND BOARD.—The Center may reimburse any par-
ent, guardian, spouse, or sibling who accompanies a pa-
tient diagnosed or treated pursuant to this section for the 
reasonable cost of— 
(1) travel to the Center for diagnosis or treat-
ment of the patient pursuant to this section; and 
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(2) room and board during the period in which 
the patient is undergoing diagnosis or treatment at 
the Center pursuant to this section. 
(e) REPORT.—Not less frequently than annually, the 
Center shall submit a report to Congress that includes the 
following: 
(1) A summary of the extent and nature of care 
provided pursuant to this section. 
(2) A summary of the research efforts of the 
Center under this section that have been completed 
within the previous year and that are ongoing as of 
the date of the submission of the report under this 
subsection. 
SEC. 4. ADVISORY BOARD. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs shall establish an advisory board (in this 
section referred to as the ‘‘Advisory Board’’) to advise the 
Center established under section 3, to determine which 
health conditions result from exposure to toxic substances, 
and to study and evaluate cases of exposure of current 
and former members of the Armed Forces to toxic sub-
stances if such exposure is related the service of the mem-
ber in the Armed Forces. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
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(1) COMPOSITION.—Not later than 150 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 and 
other heads of Federal agencies 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— 
(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— 
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(I) birth defects; 
(II) developmental disabilities; 
(III) epigenetics; 
(IV) public health; 
(V) the science of environmental 
exposure or environmental exposure 
assessment; or 
(VI) the science of toxic sub-
stances; 
(ii) social workers; and 
(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 
CENTER.—With respect to the Center established 
under section 3, the Advisory Board shall— 
(A) oversee and assess the work of the 
Center; and 
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(B) advise the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs on— 
(i) issues related to the provision of 
treatment and care at the Center; 
(ii) issues related to the research con-
ducted at the Center; and 
(iii) 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-
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 for the following: 
(A) Treatment of that descendant at the 
Center established under section 3. 
(B) Medical care for that descendant 
under section 1781 of title 38, United States 
Code. 
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(C) Support for the family caregiver of 
that descendant under section 1720G(a) of such 
title. 
(D) Support for the caregiver of that de-
scendant under section 1720G(b) of such title. 
(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. 
(iv) A descendant of a veteran. 
(v) A veterans advocacy group. 
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(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 
Veterans Affairs a report described in sub-
paragraph (D). 
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(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 Office of Extramural Re-
search established under section 5 to con-
duct further research and report its find-
ings to the Advisory Board. 
(iii) If the Advisory Board determines 
that exposure to a toxic substance did not 
occur or occurred to a negligible extent, 
the Advisory Board shall report such de-
termination 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, including 
any research conducted by the Office 
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of Extramural Research established 
under section 5. 
(II) Peer-reviewed articles from 
scientific journals relating to exposure 
to toxic substances. 
(III) Medical research conducted 
by the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs, the Department of Defense, or 
the medical community. 
(ii) Recommendations on the extent to 
which the Department of Veterans Affairs 
or the Department of Defense should pro-
vide health care, benefits, or other com-
pensation with respect to exposure to a 
toxic substance to the following individuals: 
(I) An individual exposed to a 
toxic substance as determined under 
subparagraph (C)(i). 
(II) A descendant of that indi-
vidual. 
(iii) Information on cost and attrib-
utable exposure, as defined in regulations 
prescribed pursuant to this Act. 
(E) PUBLICATION OF EVIDENCE.— 
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(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 
in clause (ii), the Secretary shall publish in 
the Federal Register the evidence described 
in clause (i) of subparagraph (D) that is 
submitted with the report required by that 
subparagraph. 
(ii) EXCEPTION.—Such evidence may 
not be published if the Secretary deter-
mines that preventing such publication— 
(I) is in the national security in-
terest of the United States; or 
(II) protects the privacy interests 
of individuals exposed to toxic sub-
stances. 
(F) SUBPOENA
AUTHORITY.—The Advi-
sory Board may require by subpoena the at-
tendance and testimony of witnesses necessary 
to consider claims of exposure to toxic sub-
stances under this paragraph. 
(G) COOPERATION
OF
FEDERAL
AGEN-
CIES.—The head of each relevant Federal agen-
cy, including the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency, shall cooperate fully 
with the Advisory Board for purposes of consid-
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ering claims of exposure to toxic substances 
under this paragraph. 
(d) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Board shall meet at 
the call of the Chair, but not less frequently than semi-
annually. 
(e) COMPENSATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The members of the Advi-
sory Board shall serve without compensation. 
(2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the 
Advisory Board shall be allowed travel expenses, in-
cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates au-
thorized for employees of agencies under subchapter 
I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 
away from their homes or regular places of business 
in the performance of services for the Advisory 
Board. 
(f) PERSONNEL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson may, with-
out regard to the civil service laws and regulations, 
appoint an executive director of the Advisory Board, 
who shall be a civilian employee of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs, and such other personnel as 
may be necessary to enable the Advisory Board to 
perform its duties. 
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