[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2078 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2078

 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to take actions necessary 
  to ensure that certain individuals may update the burn pit registry 
   with the cause of death of a registered individual, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 21, 2023

Mr. Welch (for himself and Mrs. Capito) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to take actions necessary 
  to ensure that certain individuals may update the burn pit registry 
   with the cause of death of a registered individual, 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 ``Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. BURN PIT REGISTRY UPDATES.

    (a) Individuals Eligible To Update.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
        shall take actions necessary to ensure that the burn pit 
        registry may be updated with the cause of death of a deceased 
        registered individual by--
                    (A) an individual designated by such deceased 
                registered individual; or
                    (B) if no such individual is designated, an 
                immediate family member of such deceased registered 
                individual.
            (2) Designation.--The Secretary shall provide, with respect 
        to the burn pit registry, a process by which a registered 
        individual may make a designation for purposes of paragraph 
        (1)(A).
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Burn pit registry.--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).
            (2) Immediate family member.--The term ``immediate family 
        member'', with respect to a deceased individual, means--
                    (A) the spouse, parent, brother, sister, or adult 
                child of the individual;
                    (B) an adult person to whom the individual stands 
                in loco parentis; or
                    (C) any other adult person--
                            (i) living in the household of the 
                        individual at the time of the death of the 
                        individual; and
                            (ii) related to the individual by blood or 
                        marriage.
            (3) Registered individual.--The term ``registered 
        individual'' means an individual registered with the burn pit 
        registry.
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