[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 25, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4515-S4516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 885. Mr. MORAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 764 proposed by Mr. Inhofe to the bill S. 1790, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle A of title VII, add the following:

     SEC. 705. ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH OF CERTAIN BIOLOGICAL 
                   DEPENDENTS IN CONNECTION WITH PERIODIC HEALTH 
                   ASSESSMENTS OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND 
                   VETERANS.

       (a) Assessment of Health of Certain Dependents Required.--
     The Secretary concerned shall ensure that any periodic health 
     assessment of a member of the Armed Forces or a veteran 
     provided by or for purposes of the Department of Defense or 
     the Department of Veterans Affairs, as applicable, includes 
     an evaluation of the health of any biological descendants of 
     the member or veteran, as the case may be.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the evaluations of the health 
     of descendants under subsection (a) shall be to facilitate 
     the tracking and identification of health conditions in such 
     descendants that may be causally related to the exposure of 
     the member or veteran concerned to toxins during service in 
     the Armed Forces.
       (c) Elements.--
       (1) In general.--The evaluations of the health of 
     descendants under subsection (a) shall include questions of 
     the member or veteran concerned on the following:
       (A) Whether such member or veteran has experienced 
     infertility or an adverse birth outcome, and, if so and if 
     known, the cause of or diagnosis for such infertility or 
     birth outcome.
       (B) The health of each biological descendant of such member 
     or veteran, including any current medical diagnosis, and any 
     current mental health diagnosis, with respect to any such 
     descendant.
       (2) Preservation and compilation.--The information derived 
     from answers to questions of a member or veteran in 
     evaluations of the health of descendants of the member or 
     veteran under subsection (a) shall be preserved and compiled 
     in a manner designed to facilitate the use of such 
     information for the purpose specified in subsection (b) in 
     connection with the member or veteran.
       (d) Memorandum of Understanding.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary 
     of Veterans Affairs shall jointly enter into a memorandum of 
     understanding that provides for the following:
       (A) The sharing of information between the Department of 
     Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs on trends 
     identified through evaluations of the health of descendants 
     under subsection (a).
       (B) The analysis of data collected through periodic health 
     assessments of members and veterans, and through evaluations 
     of the health of descendants under subsection (a), in order 
     to identify potential causal relationships between the 
     exposure of members and veterans to toxins during service in 
     the Armed Forces and the generational effects of such 
     exposure on the biological descendants of members and 
     veterans.
       (2) Annual report.--Not later than one year after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
     Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
     shall jointly submit to the appropriate committees of 
     Congress a report on activities undertaken under the 
     memorandum of understanding entered into under paragraph (1) 
     during the one-year period ending on the date of such report.
       (e) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) The term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
     Veterans' Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
     House of Representatives.

[[Page S4516]]

       (2) The term ``Secretary concerned'' means the following:
       (A) The Secretary of Defense with respect to members of the 
     Armed Forces.
       (B) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs with respect to 
     veterans.
       (3) The term ``biological descendant'', in the case of a 
     member or veteran, means a biological child or grandchild of 
     the member or veteran.
       (4) The term ``periodic health assessment'' includes a 
     physical examination.
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