Title: Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act of 2020
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition Act of 2019
This bill establishes a presumption, for purposes of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care benefits and wartime disability compensation, that a veteran was exposed to certain toxins, chemicals, and hazards from burn pits if such veteran served on active duty in a covered location during a specified time frame. A burn pit is an area used for burning solid waste in open air.
Specifically, the bill identifies the following covered locations and corresponding time periods
Under the bill, if an exposed veteran submits insufficient evidence to establish a service-connection for purposes of disability compensation, the VA shall provide a medical examination and request medical opinions regarding a causal link between the disability and a toxin, chemical, or hazard.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2950 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2950

To amend title 38, United States Code, to concede exposure to airborne 
hazards and toxins from burn pits under certain circumstances, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 21, 2019

  Mr. Sullivan (for himself and Mr. Manchin) 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 concede exposure to airborne 
hazards and toxins from burn pits under certain circumstances, 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 ``Veterans Burn Pits Exposure 
Recognition Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The health of some members of the Armed Forces and 
        veterans who served in certain locations, often multiple times, 
        may have been affected by their service near burn pits.
            (2) Determining the location of burn pits, and the scope of 
        health effects associated to exposure, remains the subject of 
        much investigation and research by the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs, the Department of Defense, other government agencies, 
        and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 
        Medicine.
            (3) The locations of burn pits used by the Department of 
        Defense and partnered armed forces, and the possible health 
        effects associated by their use, may never be completely known, 
        as--
                    (A) some location and air and soil quality data is 
                fragmentary; and
                    (B) the research involved with establishing links 
                between burn pit exposure and health conditions by 
                necessity is complex, years in length, and in the end, 
                in some cases, inconclusive.
            (4) In the interim, though, some veterans have already been 
        adversely affected by their exposure to burn pits, and their 
        claims to certain benefits furnished by the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
            (5) When filing a claim for certain benefits furnished by 
        the Department of Veterans Affairs, the application requires 
        that each veteran show evidence of their exposure to burn pits, 
        however if the evidence of exposure to burn pits is not 
        provided, the claim is often denied.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) if it is determined that a veteran was deployed to a 
        covered location during a certain period, the Secretary of 
        Veterans Affairs should concede that the member or veteran was 
        exposed to certain toxins, chemicals, and hazards; and
            (2) a concession of exposure as described in paragraph (1) 
        should not alone be sufficient to entitle one to health care or 
        disability compensation under laws administered by the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

SEC. 3. CONCESSION OF EXPOSURE TO AIRBORNE HAZARDS AND TOXINS FROM 
              DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND PARTNERED ARMED FORCES BURN 
              PITS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 11 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1119. Concession of exposure to airborne hazards and toxins from 
              burn pits
    ``(a) In General.--For purposes of section 1110 and chapter 17 of 
this title, any veteran who, during active military, naval, or air 
service, was deployed in support of a contingency operation while so 
serving and as part of such deployment served in a covered location 
during a corresponding period set forth under subsection (b), shall be 
considered to have been exposed to the toxins, chemicals, and hazards 
listed in subsection (c).
    ``(b) Covered Locations and Corresponding Periods.--(1) The covered 
locations and corresponding periods set forth under this subsection are 
as follows:
            ``(A) Iraq and the following periods:
                    ``(i) The period beginning on August 2, 1990, and 
                ending on February 28, 1991.
                    ``(ii) The period beginning on March 19, 2003, and 
                ending on such date as the Secretary determines burn 
                pits are no longer used in Iraq.
            ``(B) The Southwest Asia Theater of operations, other than 
        Iraq, and the period beginning on August 2, 1990, and ending on 
        such date as the Secretary determines burn pits are no longer 
        used in such location, including the following:
                    ``(i) Kuwait.
                    ``(ii) Saudi Arabia.
                    ``(iii) Bahrain.
                    ``(iv) Oman.
                    ``(v) Qatar.
                    ``(vi) United Arab Emirates.
            ``(C) Afghanistan and the period beginning on September 11, 
        2001, and ending on such date as the Secretary determines burn 
        pits are no longer used in Afghanistan.
            ``(D) Djibouti and the period beginning on September 11, 
        2001, and ending on such date as the Secretary determines burn 
        pits are no longer used in Djibouti.
            ``(E) Such other locations as are set forth by the Airborne 
        Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry established under section 
        201 of the Dignified Burial and Other Veterans' Benefits 
        Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-260; 38 U.S.C. 527 
        note) and corresponding periods set forth in such registry.
            ``(F) Such other locations and corresponding periods as the 
        Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of Defense, may 
        determine appropriate in a report the Secretary of Veterans 
        Affairs shall submit to Congress not later than two years after 
        the date of the enactment of the Veterans Burn Pits Exposure 
        Recognition Act of 2019 and not less frequently than once every 
        two years thereafter.
    ``(2) A location set forth under this subsection shall not include 
any body of water around or any airspace above such location.
    ``(c) Toxins, Chemicals, Airborne Hazards.--(1) Subject to 
paragraph (2), the toxins, chemicals, and airborne hazards listed in 
this subsection are as follows:
            ``(A) Particulate matter, including the following:
                    ``(i) PM-10.
                    ``(ii) PM-2.5.
            ``(B) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including 
        the following:
                    ``(i) Acenaphthene.
                    ``(ii) Acenaphthylene.
                    ``(iii) Anthracene.
                    ``(iv) Benzo(a)anthracene.
                    ``(v) Benzo(a)pyrene.
                    ``(vi) Benzo(b)fluoroanthene.
                    ``(vii) Benzo(g,h,i)perylene.
                    ``(viii) Benzo(k)fluoroanthene.
                    ``(ix) Chrysene.
                    ``(x) Dibenz(a,h)anthracene.
                    ``(xi) Fluoranthene.
                    ``(xii) Fluorene.
                    ``(xiii) Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene.
                    ``(xiv) Naphthalene.
                    ``(xv) Phenanthrene.
                    ``(xvi) Pyrene.
            ``(C) Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including the 
        following:
                    ``(i) Acetone.
                    ``(ii) Acrolein.
                    ``(iii) Benzene.
                    ``(iv) Carbon Disulfide.
                    ``(v) Chlorodifluoromethane.
                    ``(vi) Chloromethane.
                    ``(vii) Ethylbenzene.
                    ``(viii) Hexane.
                    ``(ix) Hexachlorobutadiene.
                    ``(x) m/p-Xylene.
                    ``(xi) Methylene Chloride.
                    ``(xii) Pentane.
                    ``(xiii) Propylene.
                    ``(xiv) Styrene.
                    ``(xv) Toluene.
            ``(D) Toxic organic halogenated dioxins and furans 
        (dioxins), including the following:
                    ``(i) 1,2,3,4,6,7,8 HPCDD.
                    ``(ii) 1,2,3,4,6,7,8 HPCDF.
                    ``(iii) 1,2,3,4,7,8,9 HPCDF.
                    ``(iv) 1,2,3,4,7,8 HXCDD.
                    ``(v) 1,2,3,4,7,8 HXCDF.
                    ``(vi) 1,2,3,6,7,8 HXCDD.
                    ``(vii) 1,2,3,6,7,8 HXCDF.
                    ``(viii) 1,2,3,7,8,9 HXCDD.
                    ``(ix) 1,2,3,7,8,9 HXCDF.
                    ``(x) 1,2,3,7,8 PECDD.
                    ``(xi) 1,2,3,7,8 PECDF.
                    ``(xii) 2,3,4,6,7,8 HXCDF.
                    ``(xiii) 2,3,4,7,8 PECDF.
                    ``(xiv) 2,3,7,8 TCDD.
                    ``(xv) 2,3,7,8 TCDF.
                    ``(xvi) octachlorodibenzodioxin.
                    ``(xvii) octachlorodibenzofuran.
            ``(E) Such other toxins, chemicals, and airborne hazards as 
        the Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of Defense, 
        may add under paragraph (2).
    ``(2) The Secretary may add to or remove from the list under 
paragraph (1) as the Secretary determines appropriate in a report the 
Secretary shall submit to Congress not later than two years after the 
date of the enactment of the Veterans Burn Pits Exposure Recognition 
Act of 2019, and not less frequently than once every two years 
thereafter.
    ``(d) Medical Examinations and Medical Opinions.--(1) If a veteran 
described in subsection (a) submits to the Secretary a claim for 
compensation for a service-connected disability with evidence of a 
disability and service in a covered location and corresponding period 
set forth under subsection (b) and such evidence is not sufficient to 
establish a service connection for the disability, the Secretary shall 
provide the veteran with a medical examination and the Secretary shall 
request a medical opinion as to any causal link between the disability 
and a toxin, chemical, or hazard set listed in subsection (c).
    ``(2) When providing the Secretary with a medical opinion requested 
under paragraph (1), the provider shall consider the total potential 
exposure through all applicable military deployments, and the 
synergistic effect of all combined toxins through inhalation, dermal 
exposure, and ingestion.
    ``(e) Definition of Burn Pit.--In this section, the term `burn pit' 
means an area of land that is used for disposal of solid waste by 
burning in the outdoor air.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 11 of such title is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 1118 the following new item:

``1119. Concession of exposure to airborne hazards and toxins from burn 
                            pits.''.
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