Panama Canal Zone Veterans Act of 2023
Latest action · Apr 14, 2023 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 30, 2023
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Panama Canal Zone Veterans Act of 2023
This bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for specified conditions associated with active duty service in or near the Panama Canal Zone (zone) from January 1, 1958, through the latter of December 31, 1999, or the date on which the last service member departed from duty in the zone. 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.
The presumption of service-connection applies to illnesses listed in the bill (e.g., Hodgkin's disease) or those that (1) have a positive association with exposure to an herbicide agent that is known or presumed to be associated with service in the zone during the specified time period, and (2) become manifest in a veteran who served in the zone during the specified time period and was exposed to an herbicide agent during such service.
The Department of Veterans Affairs must prescribe regulations providing for a presumption of service-connection whenever there is a determination that a positive association exists between the exposure to an herbicide agent known or presumed to be associated with service in or near the zone and the occurrence of an illness in humans.
Cosponsors 52
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 30, 2023 to Dec 18, 2024; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-IN | André Carson | Original | Mar 30, 2023 |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | Original | Mar 30, 2023 |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Original | Mar 30, 2023 |
| D-NV | Dina Titus | Original | Mar 30, 2023 |
| D-TX | Joaquin Castro | Original | Mar 30, 2023 |
| R-IL | Mary E. Miller | Original | Mar 30, 2023 |
| D-CA | Raul Ruiz | Apr 6, 2023 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Apr 13, 2023 | |
| D-NJ | Bonnie Watson Coleman | Apr 17, 2023 | |
| D-NH | Chris Pappas | Apr 17, 2023 | |
| D-NJ | Andy Kim | Apr 18, 2023 | |
| R-FL | Carlos A. Gimenez | Apr 18, 2023 | |
| D-TX | Lloyd Doggett | Apr 20, 2023 | |
| R-NY | Michael Lawler | Apr 25, 2023 | |
| D-NJ | Mikie Sherrill | Apr 25, 2023 | |
| D-NV | Susie Lee | Apr 25, 2023 | |
| D-TX | Vicente Gonzalez | May 2, 2023 | |
| D-AK | Mary Sattler Peltola | May 5, 2023 | |
| R-FL | Gus M. Bilirakis | May 10, 2023 | |
| R-NJ | Thomas H. Kean, Jr. | May 11, 2023 | |
| D-WA | Rick Larsen | May 17, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Josh Harder | May 23, 2023 | |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Jun 22, 2023 | |
| R-GU | James C. Moylan | Jul 27, 2023 | |
| R-FL | Kat Cammack | Jul 27, 2023 | |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Sep 20, 2023 | |
| D-MD | David J. Trone | Sep 21, 2023 | |
| D-NY | Jamaal Bowman | Sep 27, 2023 | |
| D-NJ | Josh Gottheimer | Oct 12, 2023 | |
| D-IL | Sean Casten | Nov 29, 2023 | |
| D-CO | Yadira Caraveo | Nov 29, 2023 | |
| D-KY | Morgan McGarvey | Dec 6, 2023 | |
| D-TX | Colin Z. Allred | Dec 13, 2023 | |
| D-CT | Joe Courtney | Dec 13, 2023 | |
| D-CO | Joe Neguse | Dec 14, 2023 | |
| R-NJ | Christopher H. Smith | Jan 12, 2024 | |
| D-TX | Al Green | Jan 18, 2024 | |
| D-TX | Henry Cuellar | Jan 25, 2024 | |
| D-OR | Andrea Salinas | Jan 29, 2024 | |
| D-NJ | Donald Norcross | Jan 29, 2024 | |
| D-TX | Marc A. Veasey | Jan 29, 2024 | |
| D-NC | Donald G. Davis | Feb 6, 2024 | |
| D-OH | Greg Landsman | Feb 6, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Feb 13, 2024 | |
| D-TX | Greg Casar | Feb 26, 2024 | |
| R-TN | Diana Harshbarger | Feb 28, 2024 | |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Mar 6, 2024 | |
| R-NY | Nicole Malliotakis | Mar 11, 2024 | |
| D-TX | Lizzie Fletcher | Mar 13, 2024 | |
| D-PA | Susan Wild | Mar 22, 2024 | |
| D-NC | Wiley Nickel | Jun 7, 2024 | |
| D-VA | Abigail Davis Spanberger | Dec 18, 2024 |
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 30, 2023 |
| Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee | Referred Apr 14, 2023 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 14, 2023Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
- Mar 30, 2023Introduced in House
- Mar 30, 2023Referred 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
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 169, no. 58, March 30, 2023, page H1695.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a presumption of service connection for illnesses associated with service in the Armed Forces in the Panama Canal Zone, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Panama Canal Zone Veterans Act of 2023
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 30, 2023Introduced 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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
