Title: Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act
This bill includes veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands anytime from 1977 through 1980 as radiation exposed veterans for purposes of the Department of Veterans Affairs presumption of service-connection for specified cancers. These veterans thereby become eligible for the same health care and other benefits given to service members who were involved in active nuclear tests.
Under a presumption of service-connection, specific disabilities diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded.


[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2821 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2821

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the treatment of 
veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll as radiation 
exposed veterans for purposes of the presumption of service-connection 
 of certain disabilities by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 10, 2018

    Ms. Smith (for herself, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Merkley, Ms. 
  Baldwin, Mr. King, Ms. Warren, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Brown, Mr. Tester, Mr. Coons, and Ms. Hirono) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the treatment of 
veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll as radiation 
exposed veterans for purposes of the presumption of service-connection 
 of certain disabilities by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mark Takai Atomic Veterans 
Healthcare Parity Act''.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF VETERANS WHO PARTICIPATED IN CLEANUP OF ENEWETAK 
              ATOLL AS RADIATION EXPOSED VETERANS FOR PURPOSES OF 
              PRESUMPTION OF SERVICE-CONNECTION OF CERTAIN DISABILITIES 
              BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    Section 1112(c)(3)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new clause:
                    ``(v) Cleanup of Enewetak Atoll during the period 
                beginning on January 1, 1977, and ending on December 
                31, 1980.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendment made by section 2 shall take effect on the day after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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