[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 184 (Wednesday, October 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7130-S7131]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3865. Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr. Portman) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2792, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 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 G of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1064. NOTIFICATIONS AND REPORTS REGARDING REPORTED CASES 
                   OF BURN PIT EXPOSURE.

       (a) Quarterly Notifications.--
       (1) In general.--On a quarterly basis, the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees a report on each reported case of 
     burn pit exposure by a covered veteran reported during the 
     previous quarter.
       (2) Elements.--Each report submitted under paragraph (1) 
     shall include, with respect to each reported case of burn pit 
     exposure of a covered veteran included in the report, the 
     following:
       (A) Notice of the case, including the medical facility at 
     which the case was reported.
       (B) Notice of, as available--
       (i) the enrollment status of the covered veteran with 
     respect to the patient enrollment system of the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs under section 1705(a) of title 38, United 
     States Code;
       (ii) a summary of all health care visits by the covered 
     veteran at the medical facility at which the case was 
     reported that are related to the case;
       (iii) the demographics of the covered veteran, including 
     age, sex, and race;
       (iv) any non-Department of Veterans Affairs health care 
     benefits that the covered veteran receives;
       (v) the Armed Force in which the covered veteran served and 
     the rank of the covered veteran;
       (vi) the period in which the covered veteran served;
       (vii) each location of an open burn pit from which the 
     covered veteran was exposed to toxic airborne chemicals and 
     fumes during such service;
       (viii) the medical diagnoses of the covered veteran and the 
     treatment provided to the veteran; and
       (ix) whether the covered veteran is registered in the 
     Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry.
       (3) Protection of information.--The Secretary shall ensure 
     that the reports submitted under paragraph (1) do not include 
     the identity of covered veterans or contain other personally 
     identifiable data.
       (b) Annual Report on Cases.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with the 
     Secretary of Defense, shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees a report detailing the following:
       (A) The total number of covered veterans.
       (B) The total number of claims for disability compensation 
     under chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, approved 
     and the total number denied by the Secretary of Veterans 
     Affairs with respect to a covered veteran, and for each such 
     denial, the rationale of the denial.
       (C) A comprehensive list of--
       (i) the conditions for which covered veterans seek 
     treatment; and
       (ii) the locations of the open burn pits from which the 
     covered veterans were exposed to toxic airborne chemicals and 
     fumes.
       (D) Identification of any illnesses relating to exposure to 
     open burn pits that formed the basis for the Secretary to 
     award benefits, including entitlement to service connection 
     or an increase in disability rating.
       (E) The total number of covered veterans who died after 
     seeking care for an illness relating to exposure to an open 
     burn pit.
       (F) Any updates or trends with respect to the information 
     described in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) that 
     the Secretary determines appropriate.
       (2) Matters included in first report.--The Secretary shall 
     include in the first report under paragraph (1) information 
     specified in subsection (a)(2) with respect to reported cases 
     of burn pit exposure made during the period beginning January 
     1, 1990, and ending on the day before the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
       (c) Inclusion of Information After Death and Provision of 
     Information Regarding Open Burn Pit Registry.--Section 201(a) 
     of the Dignified Burial and Other Veterans' Benefits 
     Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-260; 38 U.S.C. 527 
     note) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     paragraphs:
       ``(3) Reporting of information after death.--The Secretary 
     of Veterans Affairs shall permit a survivor of a deceased 
     veteran to report to the registry under paragraph (1) the 
     exposure of the veteran to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes 
     caused by an open burn pit, even if such veteran was not 
     included in the registry before their death.
       ``(4) Information regarding registry.--
       ``(A) Notice.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
     ensure that a medical professional of the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs informs a veteran of the registry under 
     paragraph (1) if the veteran presents at a medical facility 
     of the Department for treatment that the veteran describes as 
     being related to, or ancillary to, the exposure of the 
     veteran to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes caused by open 
     burn pits.
       ``(B) Display.--In making information public regarding the 
     number of participants in the registry under paragraph (1), 
     the Secretary shall display such numbers by both State and by 
     congressional district.''.
       (d) Comptroller General Report.--Not later than 180 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
     General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees a report containing an assessment of 
     the effectiveness of any memorandum of understanding or 
     memorandum of agreement entered into by the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs with respect to--
       (1) the processing of reported cases of burn pit exposure; 
     and
       (2) the coordination of care and provision of health care 
     relating to such cases at medical facilities of the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs and at non-Department 
     facilities.
       (e) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) The term ``Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit 
     Registry'' means the registry established by the Secretary of 
     Veterans Affairs 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) The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
     means--
       (A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
     Armed Services of the Senate; and
       (B) The Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on 
     Armed Services of the House of Representatives.
       (3) The term ``covered veteran'' means a veteran who 
     presents at a medical facility of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs (or in a non-Department facility pursuant to section 
     1703 or 1703A of title 38, United States Code) for treatment 
     that the veteran describes as being related to, or ancillary 
     to, the exposure of the veteran to toxic airborne chemicals 
     and fumes caused by open burn pits at any time while serving 
     in the Armed Forces.
       (4) The term ``open burn pit'' has the meaning given that 
     term in section 201(c) of the Dignified Burial and Other 
     Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-
     260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note).
       (5) The term ``reported case of burn pit exposure'' means 
     each instance in which a veteran presents at a medical 
     facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs (or in a non-
     Department facility pursuant to section 1703 or 1703A of 
     title 38, United States Code) for treatment that the veteran 
     describes as

[[Page S7131]]

     being related to, or ancillary to, the exposure of the 
     veteran to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes caused by open 
     burn pits at any time while serving in the Armed Forces.
                                 ______