Title: Fairness for Korean DMZ Veterans Act of 2017
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Fairness for Korean DMZ Veterans Act of 2017
This bill provides a presumption of herbicide exposure as the service-connected cause of certain diseases notwithstanding that there is no evidentiary record of any such disease during a veteran's service period.
The bill defines a "veteran" for purposes of this bill as an individual who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in or near the Korean demilitarized zone during the period beginning on September 1, 1967, and ending on August 31, 1971.
The bill specifies such a disease as: (1) a listed disease that becomes manifest, or (2) any additional disease that the Department of Veterans Affairs determines warrants a presumption of service-connection by reason of a positive association with herbicide exposure and that manifests itself within a prescribed period.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2038 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2038

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a presumption of 
 herbicide exposure for certain veterans who served in Korea, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 31, 2017

  Mr. Moran (for himself, Mr. Tester, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
 Wyden, and Ms. Collins) 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 a presumption of 
 herbicide exposure for certain veterans who served in Korea, 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 ``Fairness for Korean DMZ Veterans Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. PRESUMPTION OF HERBICIDE EXPOSURE FOR CERTAIN VETERANS WHO 
              SERVED IN KOREA.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 1116 the following new section:
``Sec. 1116A. Presumption of herbicide exposure for certain veterans 
              who served in Korea
    ``(a) Presumption of Service-Connection.--(1) For the purposes of 
section 1110 of this title, and subject to section 1113 of this title, 
a disease specified in subsection (b) that becomes manifest as 
specified in that subsection in a veteran described in paragraph (2) 
shall be considered to have been incurred or aggravated in the line of 
duty in the active military, naval, or air service, notwithstanding 
that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period 
of such service.
    ``(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a veteran who, 
during active military, naval, or air service, served in or near the 
Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ), during the period beginning on 
September 1, 1967, and ending on August 31, 1971.
    ``(b) Diseases.--A disease specified in this subsection is--
            ``(1) a disease specified in paragraph (2) of subsection 
        (a) of section 1116 of this title that becomes manifest as 
        specified in that paragraph; or
            ``(2) any additional disease that--
                    ``(A) the Secretary determines in regulations 
                warrants a presumption of service-connection by reason 
                of having positive association with exposure to an 
                herbicide agent; and
                    ``(B) becomes manifest within any period prescribed 
                in such regulations.
    ``(c) Herbicide Agent.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`herbicide agent' has the meaning given such term in section 1821(d) 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. Presumption of herbicide exposure for certain veterans who 
                            served in Korea.''.
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