[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1680 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1680
To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance recordkeeping with
respect to exposure by members of the Armed Forces to certain
occupational and environmental hazards while deployed overseas, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 23 (legislative day, May 22), 2019
Mr. Tester (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance recordkeeping with
respect to exposure by members of the Armed Forces to certain
occupational and environmental hazards while deployed overseas, and for
other purposes.
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 ``Service Member's Occupational and
Environmental Transparency Health Act'' or the ``OATH Act''.
SEC. 2. INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE ADDED TO MEDICAL RECORDS OF CERTAIN
MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.
(a) Occupational and Environmental Health Risks in Deployment
Area.--
(1) Elements of medical tracking system.--Subsection
(b)(1)(A) of section 1074f of title 10, United States Code, is
amended--
(A) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new clause:
``(iv) accurately record any exposure to
occupational and environmental health risks during the
course of their deployment.''.
(2) Recordkeeping.--Subsection (c) of such section is
amended by inserting after ``deployment area'' the following:
``(including the results of any assessment performed by the
Secretary of occupational and environmental health risks for
such area)''.
(3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this
subsection.
(b) Burn Pit Registry.--
(1) Updates to electronic health records.--Beginning not
later than one year after the date of the enactment of this
Act--
(A) the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the
electronic health record maintained by such Secretary
of a member of the Armed Forces registered with the
burn pit registry is updated with any information
contained in such registry; and
(B) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure
that the electronic health record maintained by such
Secretary of a veteran registered with the burn pit
registry is updated with any information contained in
such registry.
(2) Burn pit registry defined.--In this subsection, the
term ``burn pit registry'' means the registry established under
section 201 of the Dignified Burial and Other Veterans'
Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-260; 38 U.S.C.
527 note).
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR POSTDEPLOYMENT MEDICAL EXAMINATION
AND HEALTH REASSESSMENTS.
(a) Postdeployment Medical Examination and Reassessments.--Section
1074f of title 10, United States Code, as amended by section 2, is
further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(g) Additional Requirements for Postdeployment Medical
Examinations and Health Reassessments.--(1) The Secretary of Defense
shall--
``(A) standardize and make available to a provider that
conducts a postdeployment medical examination or reassessment
under the system described in subsection (a) questions relating
to occupational and environmental health exposure; and
``(B) prior to an examination or reassessment of a member
of the armed forces, require such provider to review
information applicable to such member--
``(i) in a Periodic Occupational and Environmental
Monitoring Summary (or any successor document); and
``(ii) on the Defense Occupational and
Environmental Health Readiness System (or any successor
system).
``(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the medical record of a
member includes information on the external cause relating to a
diagnosis of the member, including by associating an external cause
code (as issued under the International Statistical Classification of
Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (or any successor
revision)).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this section.
SEC. 4. REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the congressional defense committees, the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
of the House of Representatives a report containing an evaluation of
the implementation of this Act (and the amendments made by this Act),
including an assessment of the extent to which the Secretary of Defense
and Secretary of Veterans Affairs are in compliance with the applicable
requirements of this Act (and the amendments made by this Act).
(b) Congressional Defense Committees Defined.--In this section, the
term ``congressional defense committees'' has the meaning given that
term in section 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code.
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