[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1742 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1742

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to establish a presumption of service connection for 
 illnesses associated with contaminants in the water supply at Marine 
Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and to provide health care to 
 family members of veterans who lived at Camp Lejeune while the water 
                           was contaminated.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 2011

 Mr. Miller of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Courtney, 
Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Donnelly of 
 Indiana, Mr. Murphy of Connecticut, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. 
  Wilson of South Carolina, Ms. Sutton, Mr. Ribble, Mr. Conyers, Mrs. 
   Maloney, and Mr. Jones) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to establish a presumption of service connection for 
 illnesses associated with contaminants in the water supply at Marine 
Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and to provide health care to 
 family members of veterans who lived at Camp Lejeune while the water 
                           was contaminated.

    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 ``Janey Ensminger Act''.

SEC. 2. PRESUMPTIONS OF SERVICE CONNECTION FOR ILLNESSES ASSOCIATED 
              WITH CONTAMINANTS IN THE WATER SUPPLY AT MARINE CORPS 
              BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 11 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1119. Presumptions of service connection for illnesses 
              associated with contaminants in the water supply at Camp 
              Lejeune, North Carolina
    ``(a) Presumption.--(1) For purposes of section 1110 of this title, 
and subject to section 1113 of this title, each illness, if any, 
described in paragraph (2) shall be considered to have been incurred in 
or aggravated by service referred to in that paragraph, notwithstanding 
that there is no record of evidence of such illness during the period 
of such service.
    ``(2) An illness referred to in paragraph (1) is any diagnosed or 
undiagnosed illness that--
            ``(A) the Secretary determines, in consultation with the 
        Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, in 
        regulations prescribed under this section to warrant a 
        presumption of service connection by reason of having a 
        positive association with exposure to volatile organic 
        compounds, including known human carcinogens and probable human 
        carcinogens, known or presumed to be associated with service in 
        the Armed Forces at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North 
        Carolina, during a period determined by the Secretary in 
        consultation with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
        Registry; and
            ``(B) becomes manifest within the period, if any, 
        prescribed in such regulations in a veteran who served on 
        active duty at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and by reason of 
        such service was exposed to such compounds.
    ``(3) For purposes of this subsection, a veteran who served on 
active duty at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during the period referred 
to in paragraph (2)(A) and who has an illness described in paragraph 
(2) shall be presumed to have been exposed by reason of such service to 
the compound associated with the illness in the regulations prescribed 
under this section unless there is conclusive evidence to establish 
that the veteran was not exposed to the compound by reason of such 
service.
    ``(b) Determinations Relating to Diseases.--(1) Whenever the 
Secretary determines, in consultation with the Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry, on the basis of sound medical and 
scientific evidence, that a positive association exists between the 
exposure of humans to a volatile organic compound known or presumed to 
be present in the water supply at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and the 
occurrence of a disease in humans, the Secretary shall prescribe 
regulations providing that a presumption of service connection is 
warranted for that disease for the purposes of this section.
    ``(2) In making determinations for the purpose of this subsection, 
the Secretary shall take into account all other sound medical and 
scientific information and analyses available to the Secretary. In 
evaluating any study for the purpose of making such determinations, the 
Secretary shall take into consideration whether the results are 
statistically significant, are capable of replication, and withstand 
peer review.
    ``(3) An association between the occurrence of a disease in humans 
and exposure to a volatile organic compound shall be considered to be 
positive for the purposes of this section if the credible evidence for 
the association is equal to or outweighs the credible evidence against 
the association.
    ``(c) Removal of Diseases.--Whenever a disease is removed from 
regulations prescribed under this section--
            ``(1) a veteran who was awarded compensation for such 
        disease on the basis of the presumption provided in subsection 
        (a) before the effective date of the removal shall continue to 
        be entitled to receive compensation on that basis; and
            ``(2) a survivor of a veteran who was awarded dependency 
        and indemnity compensation for the death of a veteran resulting 
        from such disease on the basis of such presumption shall 
        continue to be entitled to receive dependency and indemnity 
        compensation on such basis.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1118 the following new item:

``1119. Presumptions of service connection for illnesses associated 
                            with contaminants in the water supply at 
                            Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.''.

SEC. 3. HOSPITAL CARE, MEDICAL SERVICES, AND NURSING HOME CARE FOR 
              VETERANS STATIONED AT CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, WHILE 
              THE WATER WAS CONTAMINATED AT CAMP LEJEUNE.

    (a) Family Members.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter VIII of chapter 17 of title 38, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new section:
``Sec. 1786. Health care of family members of veterans stationed at 
              Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, while the water was 
              contaminated at Camp Lejeune
    ``(a) In General.--A family member of a veteran described in 
section 1119(a)(3) of this title who resided at Camp Lejeune, North 
Carolina, during the period described in such section, or who was in 
utero during such period while the mother of such family member resided 
at such location, shall be eligible for hospital care, medical 
services, and nursing home care furnished by the Secretary for any 
covered condition, or any covered disability that is associated with a 
condition, that is associated with exposure to the contaminants in the 
water at Camp Lejeune during such period.
    ``(b) Covered Conditions and Disabilities.--In this section, 
covered conditions and disabilities are those conditions and 
disabilities described in section 1119(a)(2) of this title.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the 
        item relating to section 1785 the following new item:

``1786. Health care of family members of veterans stationed at Camp 
                            Lejeune, North Carolina, while the water 
                            was contaminated at Camp Lejeune.''.
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