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 between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1980, as radiation-exposed veterans for purposes of the Department of Veterans Affairs presumption of service-connection for specified cancers.
Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions 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 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1585 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1585

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 3, 2021

Ms. Meng (for herself, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. 
Titus, Mr. San Nicolas, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Mr. Swalwell, Mr. Kahele, Mr. 
   Moulton, Mr. Welch, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Gallagher, Ms. Speier, Mr. 
Thompson of California, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Cohen, 
Mr. Pappas, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Takano, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Pallone, 
   Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Vargas, Ms. DeGette, Ms. 
DelBene, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Connolly, 
  Mr. Pocan, Ms. Norton, Mr. Foster, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Garbarino, Ms. 
     Moore of Wisconsin, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Deutch, Mrs. Torres of 
 California, Mr. Auchincloss, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Lieu, Ms. 
   Pingree, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. Price of North 
Carolina, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Bishop of 
 Georgia, Mr. Burgess, Ms. Stevens, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Schneider, Mr. 
    Schrader, Mr. Kildee, Ms. Sherrill, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Larsen of 
   Washington, Mrs. Demings, Ms. Chu, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Lois Frankel of 
 Florida, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. Case, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. 
 DeFazio, Mr. Zeldin, Mrs. Axne, Mr. Baird, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Peters, 
Mr. Rush, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Sablan, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Kuster, Miss Rice 
  of New York, Mr. Higgins of New York, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Quigley, Mr. 
   Schiff, Mr. Evans, Ms. Escobar, Ms. Spanberger, Mrs. Bustos, Mr. 
 Courtney, Mr. Sires, Mr. Costa, Mr. Carson, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. 
 Garamendi, Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Aguilar, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
Hastings, Mr. Lamb, Mr. Phillips, Mrs. Luria, Mr. Himes, and Mr. Rodney 
Davis of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was 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.

    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.''.
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