HR 2269 · 117th Congress 2021–2023, ended

To modify the presumption of service connection for veterans who were exposed to herbicide agents while serving in the Armed Forces in Thailand during the Vietnam era, and for other purposes.

Introduced Mar 26, 2021 Originated House Sponsor Bruce Westerman R-AR

Latest action · Jun 22, 2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

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.

IntroducedMar 26, 2021
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that, if it creates a presumption of service-connection between the occurrence of a disease and exposure to an herbicide agent while serving in the Armed Forces between January 9, 1962, and June 30, 1976, at a military base in Thailand, such presumption must also apply to exposure at any military base in Thailand, regardless of where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty the veteran performed.

Cosponsors 67

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 26, 2021 to Dec 20, 2022; 37 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-NJ	Andy Kim	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-AZ	Ann Kirkpatrick	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-OH	Anthony Gonzalez	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-FL	Bill Posey	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-IL	Bobby L. Rush	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-PA	Brian K. Fitzpatrick	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-WA	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-ME	Chellie Pingree	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-IA	Cynthia Axne	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-TN	Diana Harshbarger	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-TX	Filemon Vela	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-AZ	Greg Stanton	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-FL	Gus M. Bilirakis	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-VA	H. Morgan Griffith	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-GA	Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-MN	Ilhan Omar	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-AR	J. French Hill	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-MI	Jack Bergman	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-IN	James R. Baird	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-FL	John H. Rutherford	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-CA	Josh Harder	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-TX	Marc A. Veasey	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-OH	Michael R. Turner	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-TX	Michael T. McCaul	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-WI	Mike Gallagher	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-LA	Mike Johnson	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-CA	Mike Thompson	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-NY	Nydia M. Velázquez	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-OR	Peter A. DeFazio	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-WA	Rick Larsen	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-WI	Ron Kind	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-MA	Seth Moulton	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-TX	Sheila Jackson Lee	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-TN	Steve Cohen	Original	Mar 26, 2021
R-KY	Thomas Massie	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-OH	Tim Ryan	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-FL	Val Butler Demings	Original	Mar 26, 2021
D-VA	Abigail Davis Spanberger		Apr 8, 2021
R-IN	Jackie Walorski		Apr 8, 2021
D-HI	Kaiali'i Kahele		Apr 8, 2021
R-CA	Tom McClintock		Apr 8, 2021
R-WI	Thomas P. Tiffany		Apr 28, 2021
D-WA	Derek Kilmer		May 12, 2021
D-GA	Lucy McBath		May 12, 2021
D-CO	Joe Neguse		Jun 11, 2021
R-NY	Lee M. Zeldin		Jun 17, 2021
R-IN	Victoria Spartz		Jul 29, 2021
R-TX	Louie Gohmert		Aug 3, 2021
D-NY	Mondaire Jones		Sep 10, 2021
R-NY	Andrew R. Garbarino		Sep 20, 2021
R-FL	Maria Elvira Salazar		Sep 20, 2021
R-UT	Chris Stewart		Oct 12, 2021
R-NM	Yvette Herrell		Oct 12, 2021
R-TN	David Kustoff		Oct 19, 2021
R-TN	Charles J. "Chuck" Fleischmann		Oct 20, 2021
R-TN	Scott DesJarlais		Oct 25, 2021
D-CO	Jason Crow		Nov 30, 2021
D-LA	Troy A. Carter		Dec 9, 2021
D-IL	Raja Krishnamoorthi		Dec 14, 2021
R-WV	David B. McKinley		Feb 9, 2022
D-CA	Judy Chu		Feb 22, 2022
D-FL	Darren Soto		Mar 1, 2022
R-MN	Pete Stauber		May 27, 2022
D-CA	Jimmy Panetta		Jul 1, 2022
R-MS	Trent Kelly		Jul 14, 2022
R-FL	Daniel Webster		Nov 17, 2022
D-GA	Nikema Williams		Dec 20, 2022

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Veterans' Affairs Committee	Referred Mar 26, 2021
	Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee	Referred Jun 22, 2021

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

Jun 22, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Mar 26, 2021Introduced in House
Mar 26, 2021Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article 1, Section 2, Clause 18. Congress has the authority to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by the Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof, including the regulation of health care for citizens for the United States.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 57, March 26, 2021, page H1695.

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
S 657	A bill to modify the presumption of service connection for veterans who were exposed to herbicide agents while serving in the Armed Forces in Thailand during the Vietnam era, and for other purposes.	Identical bill	Apr 28, 2021

Titles 1

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To modify the presumption of service connection for veterans who were exposed to herbicide agents while serving in the Armed Forces in Thailand during the Vietnam era, and for other purposes.

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Mar 26, 2021Introduced in House

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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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.