Title: OATH Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Service Member's Occupational and Environmental Transparency Health Act or the OATH Act
This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to (1) record service members' exposure to occupational and environmental health hazards while deployed overseas, and (2) make such information available for post-deployment medical examinations and health reassessments.
DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs must update electronic health records with information from the Burn Pit Registry (i.e., a registry designed to track certain airborne hazards).
The Government Accountability Office must submit a report evaluating implementation of the above requirements.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2617 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2617

 To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance recordkeeping with 
     respect to exposure by members of the Armed Forces to certain 
occupational and environmental hazards while deployed overseas, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 9, 2019

Mr. Garamendi (for himself and Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia) introduced 
   the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed 
Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance recordkeeping with 
     respect to exposure by members of the Armed Forces to certain 
occupational and environmental hazards while deployed overseas, 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 ``Service Member's Occupational and 
Environmental Transparency Health Act'' or the ``OATH Act''.

SEC. 2. INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE ADDED TO MEDICAL RECORDS OF CERTAIN 
              MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Occupational and Environmental Health Risks in Deployment 
Area.--
            (1) Elements of medical tracking system.--Subsection 
        (b)(1)(A) of section 1074f of title 10, United States Code, is 
        amended--
                    (A) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new clause:
                    ``(iv) accurately record any exposure to 
                occupational and environmental health risks during the 
                course of their deployment.''.
            (2) Recordkeeping.--Subsection (c) of such section is 
        amended by inserting after ``deployment area'' the following: 
        ``(including the results of any assessment performed by the 
        Secretary of occupational and environmental health risks for 
        such area)''.
            (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
        shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 
        subsection.
    (b) Burn Pit Registry.--
            (1) Updates to electronic health records.--Beginning not 
        later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act--
                    (A) the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the 
                electronic health record maintained by such Secretary 
                of a member of the Armed Forces registered with the 
                burn pit registry is updated with any information 
                contained in such registry; and
                    (B) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure 
                that the electronic health record maintained by such 
                Secretary of a veteran registered with the burn pit 
                registry is updated with any information contained in 
                such registry.
            (2) Burn pit registry defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term ``burn pit registry'' means the 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).

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR POSTDEPLOYMENT MEDICAL EXAMINATION 
              AND HEALTH REASSESSMENTS.

    (a) Postdeployment Medical Examination and Reassessments.--Section 
1074f of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 2, is 
further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g) Additional Requirements for Postdeployment Medical 
Examinations and Health Reassessments.--(1) The Secretary of Defense 
shall--
            ``(A) standardize and make available to a provider that 
        conducts a postdeployment medical examination or reassessment 
        under the system described in subsection (a) questions relating 
        to occupational and environmental health exposure; and
            ``(B) prior to an examination or reassessment of a member 
        of the armed forces, require such provider to review 
        information applicable to such member--
                    ``(i) in a Periodic Occupational and Environmental 
                Monitoring Summary (or any successor document); and
                    ``(ii) on the Defense Occupational and 
                Environmental Health Readiness System (or any successor 
                system).
    ``(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the medical record of a 
member includes information on the external cause relating to a 
diagnosis of the member, including by associating an external cause 
code (as issued under the International Statistical Classification of 
Diseases, 10th Revision (or any successor revision)).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section.

SEC. 4. REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the congressional defense committees and the Committees 
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 
report containing an evaluation of the implementation of this Act (and 
the amendments made by this Act), including an assessment of the extent 
to which the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Veterans Affairs are 
in compliance with the applicable requirements of this Act (and the 
amendments made by this Act).
    (b) Congressional Defense Committees Defined.--In this section, the 
term ``congressional defense committees'' has the meaning given that 
term in section 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code.
                                 <all>