Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act
Latest action · Aug 13, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 5, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a center of excellence in the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of health conditions relating to exposure to open burn pits and other environmental exposures in Afghanistan or Iraq.
The VA shall, in selecting the site, consider entities that:
- are equipped with the specialized equipment needed to study, diagnose, and treat health conditions relating to such exposure;
- have a publication track record of post-deployment health exposures among veterans who served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom;
- have collaborated with a geosciences department that has a medical geology division;
- have developed animal models and in vitro models of dust immunology and lung injury consistent with the injuries of members of the Armed Forces who served in support of such Operations; and
- have expertise in allergy and immunology, pulmonary diseases, and industrial and management engineering.
The VA shall ensure that the center collaborates with the Department of Defense (DOD), institutions of higher education, and other appropriate public and private entities to:
- provide for dissemination within the VA of best practices for the treatment of such conditions and the training of health professionals;
- provide guidance for the VA and DOD health systems in determining the personnel required to provide quality health care for members of the Armed Forces and veterans with such conditions;
- establish, implement, and oversee a comprehensive program to train VA and DOD health professionals in the treatment of such conditions;
- facilitate advancements in the study of the short-term and long-term effects of such exposure;
- conduct basic science and translational research on such conditions for the purposes of understanding the etiology of such conditions and developing preventive interventions and new treatments; and
- provide medical treatment to all veterans identified as part of the burn pits registry established under the Dignified Burial and Other Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2012.
The center shall have access to and make use of the data accumulated by such registry.
Cosponsors 24
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 5, 2015 to Jul 25, 2016, with 1 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-WA | Jim McDermott | Original | May 5, 2015 |
| R-NY | Peter T. King | May 8, 2015 | |
| D-TX | Henry Cuellar | May 14, 2015 | |
| R-AS | Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen | Jun 15, 2015 | |
| R-CO | Mike Coffman | Jul 7, 2015 | |
| R-NC | Walter B. Jones | Oct 8, 2015 | |
| D-IL | Cheri Bustos | Oct 23, 2015 | |
| R-PA | Keith J. Rothfus | Dec 10, 2015 | |
| D-GU | Madeleine Z. Bordallo | Feb 2, 2016 | |
| D-NY | Charles B. Rangel | Mar 10, 2016 | |
| D-CA | Michael M. Honda | Mar 10, 2016 | |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | Mar 15, 2016 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Apr 13, 2016 | |
| D-TX | Beto O'Rourke | Apr 15, 2016 | |
| D-AZ | Kyrsten Sinema | Apr 27, 2016 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 13, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
- May 26, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- May 5, 2015Introduced in House
- May 5, 2015Referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, 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.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 2679 | Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act | Related bill | May 24, 2016 |
| HR 6062 | SERVICE Act | Related bill | Oct 19, 2016 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Afghanistan
- Allergies
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Asia
- Cardiovascular and respiratory health
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Environmental health
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Fires
- Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
- Health facilities and institutions
- Health information and medical records
- Health personnel
- Health programs administration and funding
- Health promotion and preventive care
- Immunology and vaccination
- Iraq
- Medical education
- Medical research
- Middle East
- Military medicine
- Military operations and strategy
- Military personnel and dependents
- Research administration and funding
- Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
- Veterans' medical care
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 5, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.