[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 737 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 737

   Designating August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure Awareness Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2022

  Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Rounds) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Designating August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure Awareness Day''.

Whereas, during the Vietnam War, the United States sprayed between 11,000,000 
        and 12,000,000 gallons of Agent Orange, potentially exposing millions of 
        members of the Armed Forces stationed in Vietnam and elsewhere to this 
        toxic mixture of herbicides;
Whereas, after the Vietnam War, it took the United States Government years to 
        recognize the link between Agent Orange and the health conditions being 
        experienced by thousands of returning members of the Armed Forces;
Whereas the Agent Orange Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-4; 38 U.S.C. 1116 note), 
        provided Vietnam veterans with a presumption of service connection for 
        diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents;
Whereas members of the Armed Forces have been exposed to toxic substances while 
        serving at home, including at Camp Lejeune, where as many as 1,000,000 
        members of the Armed Forces, family members, and staff may have been 
        exposed to drinking water containing contaminants that have been linked 
        to adverse health effects;
Whereas members of the Armed Forces have been exposed to toxic radiation while 
        engaged in cleanup operations, including in--

    (1) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;

    (2) Thule, Greenland; and

    (3) Palomares, Spain;

Whereas, from 1985 to 2001, at Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Atsugi, Japan, 
        personnel and family members of members of the Armed Forces, including 
        dependent children, may have been exposed to environmental contaminants 
        from off-base waste incinerators;
Whereas the Armed Forces used burn pits in Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United 
        Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain during Operation Desert Shield 
        and Operation Desert Storm;
Whereas more than 250 burn pits were used during military operations in Iraq, 
        Afghanistan, and Djibouti after September 11, 2001;
Whereas veterans encountered hazardous exposures while serving at the Karshi-
        Khanabad Air Base, commonly known as K2, in Uzbekistan from 2001 to 
        2005;
Whereas there were no regulations restricting what the Armed Forces could burn 
        in burn pits until 2009;
Whereas the open air burn pits used by the Armed Forces in many overseas 
        operations may have exposed members of the Armed Forces to a variety of 
        potentially harmful substances;
Whereas the Department of Defense estimates that approximately 3,500,000 members 
        of the Armed Forces, who served in the Southwest Asia theater of 
        military operations after August 2, 1990, or in Afghanistan after 
        September 11, 2001, may have been exposed to airborne hazards;
Whereas an Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America survey found that 86 percent 
        of post-9/11 veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan say they were 
        exposed to burn pits or airborne toxic materials;
Whereas hundreds of thousands of members of the Armed Forces and other personnel 
        who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Araibia, Djibouti, Qatar, 
        Bahrain, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and certain sea locations have 
        signed up for a burn pit registry created in 2014 by the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs for veterans to register health problems associated 
        with exposure to burn pits; and
Whereas designating August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure Awareness Day'' would 
        be an appropriate way to honor the members of the Armed Forces who were 
        exposed to toxic substances while serving in defense of the United 
        States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure 
        Awareness Day'';
            (2) honors and recognizes the contributions of the members 
        of the Armed Forces and veterans who were exposed to toxic 
        substances;
            (3) encourages States and local governments to designate 
        August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure Awareness Day'';
            (4) encourages the Department of Veterans Affairs (referred 
        to in this resolution as ``VA'') to conduct additional outreach 
        and promote awareness of the resources that the VA offers for 
        those to exposed to toxic substances, including--
                    (A) offering no-cost health screenings;
                    (B) registering for the VA Airborne Hazards and 
                Open Burn Pit Registry;
                    (C) providing information on the Electronic Health 
                Record (commonly known as ``EHR'');
                    (D) reviewing the VA insurance and benefits, 
                including review of disability claims;
                    (E) connecting with County Veteran Service 
                Officers; and
                    (F) promoting awareness campaigns;
            (5) encourages veterans to use the available resources at 
        the VA and Veteran Service Organizations (referred to in this 
        resolution as ``VSOs'');
            (6) encourages VSOs to continue outreach efforts to connect 
        veterans with available health resources, from both VSOs and 
        the United States Government;
            (7) promotes continued medical research regarding burn pit 
        exposure risks, whether through the Airborne Hazards and Burn 
        Pits Center of Excellence or other partnership programming with 
        the VA or the United States Government;
            (8) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
        Toxic Exposure Awareness Day, whether by familiarizing 
        themselves with resources available to all veterans or thanking 
        members of the Armed Forces for their sacrifice; and
            (9) demonstrates the resolve that the people of the United 
        States shall never forget the sacrifices and service of the 
        generations of veterans who served in the Armed Forces at home 
        and around the world.
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