[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3081 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3081

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend and expand authority 
 for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide priority health care 
 to veterans who were exposed to ionizing radiation or to Agent Orange.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 15, 1993

 Mr. Rowland (for himself and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend and expand authority 
 for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide priority health care 
 to veterans who were exposed to ionizing radiation or to Agent Orange.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION. 1. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE HEALTH CARE.

    (a) Authorized Inpatient Care.--Section 1710(e) of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(e)(1)(A) Subject to paragraph (2), a herbicide-exposed veteran 
is eligible for hospital care and nursing home care under subsection 
(a)(1)(G) for any disease specified in subparagraph (B).
    ``(B) The diseases referred to in subparagraph (A) are those for 
which the National Academy of Sciences, in a report issued in 
accordance with section 2 of the Agent Orange Act of 1991, has 
determined--
            ``(i) that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that 
        there is a positive association between occurrence of the 
        disease in humans and exposure to a herbicide agent;
            ``(ii) that there is evidence which is suggestive of an 
        association between occurrence of the disease in humans and 
        exposure to a herbicide agent, but such evidence is limited in 
        nature; or
            ``(iii) that available studies are insufficient to permit a 
        conclusion about the presence or absence of an association 
        between occurrence of the disease in humans and exposure to a 
        herbicide agent.
    ``(C) A radiation-exposed veteran is eligible for hospital care and 
nursing home care under subsection (a)(1)(G) for--
            ``(i) any disease listed in section 1112(c)(2) of this 
        title; and
            ``(ii) any other disease for which the Secretary, based on 
        the advice of the Advisory Committee on Environmental Hazards, 
        determines that there is credible evidence of a positive 
        association between occurrence of the disease in humans and 
        exposure to ionizing radiation.
    ``(2) Hospital and nursing home care may not be provided under or 
by virtue of paragraph (1)(A) after September 30, 1996.
    ``(3) For purposes of this subsection and section 1712 of this 
title:
            ``(A) the term `herbicide-exposed veteran' means a veteran 
        (i) who served on active duty in the Republic of Vietnam during 
        the Vietnam era, and (ii) who the Secretary finds may have been 
        exposed during such service to a herbicide agent.
            ``(B) the term `herbicide agent' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 1116(a)(4) of this title.
            ``(C) the term `radiation-exposed veteran' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 1112(c)(4) of this title.''.
    (b) Authorized Outpatient Care.--Section 1712 of such title is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
                    (A) by striking out ``and'' at the end of 
                subparagraph (B);
                    (B) by striking out the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (C) and inserting in lieu thereof a 
                semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) during the period before October 1, 1996, to 
                any herbicide-exposed veteran for any disease listed in 
                section 1710(e)(1)(B) of this title; and
                    ``(E) to any radiation-exposed veteran for any 
                disease covered under section 1710(e)(1)(C) of this 
                title.''; and
            (2) in subsection (i)(3)--
                    (A) by striking out ``(A)''; and
                    (B) by striking out ``, or (B)'' and all that 
                follows through ``title''.

                                 <all>