[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 199 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6280-H6281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   BURN PIT REGISTRY ENHANCEMENT ACT

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2433) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to take 
actions necessary to ensure that certain individuals may update the 
burn pit registry with a registered individual's cause of death, and 
for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2433

       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) 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) 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) The term ``registered individual'' means an individual 
     registered with the burn pit registry.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2433.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the passage of Representative Ruiz's 
Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act.
  As the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and our Senate 
counterparts close in on providing much-needed, comprehensive 
assistance to veterans exposed to burn pits and other airborne hazards, 
this measure from Dr. Ruiz is an important step in the right direction.
  As VA continues to study the effects that burn pit and other airborne 
hazard

[[Page H6281]]

exposures have on our veterans, the collection of data is critical. 
Without data, important patterns are not identified, and decisive 
conclusions cannot be made.
  This bill ensures that VA researchers and their partners will have 
more information to evaluate as they strive toward final determinations 
on issues and additional presumptive service-connected conditions.
  VA's burn pit registry is for veterans and servicemembers who may 
have been exposed to airborne hazards caused by open burn pits while 
deployed in support of Operations Desert Storm, Desert Shield, New 
Dawn, Iraqi Freedom, or Enduring Freedom. Through this registry, 
veterans may report on their symptoms or illnesses, providing 
researchers with invaluable information used to determine potential 
links between veterans' exposures and their current health conditions.
  The Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act will strengthen this registry 
by authorizing a designee of a registered veteran or an immediate 
family member to update the registry with the veteran's cause of death.
  While this additional information can no longer assist those who 
sadly pass away as a potential consequence of burn pit exposure, their 
cause of death data may someday assist their fellow veterans. This will 
be an honorable and incredibly valuable last act of service.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the passage of the Burn Pit 
Registry Enhancement Act, H.R. 2433, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2433, the Burn Pit 
Registry Enhancement Act. This bill is cosponsored by Congressmen Raul 
Ruiz from California and Brad Wenstrup from Ohio. Dr. Ruiz and Dr. 
Wenstrup are co-chairs of the House Burn Pit Caucus. I thank them for 
their work on this bill and continued advocacy on behalf of the 
veterans exposed to burn pits.
  Many servicemembers and veterans are grappling with serious health 
conditions that they believe are the result of the burn pit exposures. 
That is why Congress required VA to create an Airborne Hazards and Open 
Burn Pit Registry in 2013.
  The registry was intended to provide a forum for servicemembers and 
veterans to document their burn pit exposures and health status so that 
the VA could better target research and outreach. The registry 
continues to be an important tool for veterans worried about burn pit 
and other toxic or environmental exposures.
  Last Congress, two important stakeholders, Burn Pits 360 and VFW, 
recommended family members be allowed to update the registry in the 
event of the death of a servicemember or veteran listed on it. This 
would ensure that the registry contains a more complete picture of the 
possible effects of burn pit exposure. This bill would do that.
  When a servicemember or a veteran listed in the registry passes away, 
it would allow an immediate family member to report their death and 
cause of death to the registry.
  As ranking member, improving the care and benefits provided to 
veterans who have experienced toxic exposure continues to be one of my 
top priorities. There have been bipartisan bills introduced in the 
House and Senate this Congress. One of those bills is my bill, the TEAM 
Act.
  And last week, VA announced some new initiatives aimed at improving 
the presumptive process for toxic-exposed veterans. I still have many 
outstanding questions about that announcement, and am concerned by the 
stalled legislative efforts of the Democrat-controlled Congress.
  Toxic-exposed veterans are sick and dying. We cannot let burn pits, 
PFAS, or particulate matters become this generation's Agent Orange. We 
cannot fail to take proactive action on behalf of the future 
generations of warfighters.
  I hope that we can soon come together in the House and the Senate in 
a bipartisan manner to take meaningful, fiscally responsible, and 
scientifically sound action to address toxic exposures. In the 
meantime, I am pleased to support this bill today, and hope it has the 
support of all of my colleagues.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared to 
close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close. I encourage all of my 
colleagues to support this piece of legislation, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in 
passing H.R. 2433, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2433.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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