[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 2, 2022)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D216-D217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page D216]]




                        House of Representatives


 Chamber Action
 Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced: 17 public bills, H.R. 6891-
6902; 3 private bills, H.R. 6908-6910; and 4 resolutions, H. Con. Res. 
76; and H. Res. 959-961 were introduced.                 
  Pages H1274-75
 Additional Cosponsors:                                  
  Pages H1275-76
 Reports Filed: There were no reports filed today.
 Speaker: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein she appointed 
Representative McGovern to act as Speaker pro tempore for today. 
                                                             Page H1211
 Recess: The House recessed at 10:46 a.m. and reconvened at 12 noon. 
                                                             Page H1216
 Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act: The House 
considered H.R. 3967, to improve health care and benefits for veterans 
exposed to toxic substances. Consideration is expected to resume 
tomorrow, March 3rd.                           
  Pages H1219-46, H1255-57
   Pursuant to the Rule, an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-33, modified by the 
amendment printed in part A of H. Rept. 117-253, shall be considered as 
adopted.                                                 
Pages H1219-28
 Agreed to:
   Takano en bloc amendment No. 1 consisting of the following 
amendments printed in part B of H. Rept. 117-253: Bush (No. 1) that 
includes race and ethnicity as a demographic for a study on the 
incidence of cancer in veterans; Bush (No. 2) that includes race, age, 
period of service, military occupation, gender, and disability status 
of veterans in an epidemiological study on the health trends of 
veterans who served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001; Bush 
(No. 3) that amends the review of known cases of toxic exposure on 
military installations of the Department of Defense to include both in 
the United States and abroad; Bush (No. 4) that includes a study on 
veteran health outcomes related to waste from the Manhattan project in 
St. Louis; Cartwright (No. 7) that requires the Secretary of the VA to 
share a list of resources for toxic-exposed veterans, caregivers of 
toxic-exposed veterans, and survivors of toxic-exposed vets with 
national veterans services organizations and other veteran groups; 
Gibbs (No. 8) that allows veterans an additional 24-hour period, at 
minimum, to notify the VA when receiving care at a non-VA facility; 
Golden (No. 9) that ensures that mental health services and counseling 
are included when providing hospital services to give holistic care for 
affected veterans; Gottheimer (No. 10) that requires a study by the 
Department of Veterans Affairs to examine the possible relationship 
between toxic exposures experienced during service in the Armed Forces 
and mental health outcomes; Gottheimer (No. 11) that defines outreach 
materials on illnesses that may be related to toxic exposure as fact 
sheets under the Veterans and Family Information Act; Hartzler (No. 12) 
that enhances VA hiring competitiveness by allowing VA to release 
physicians from non-compete agreements after committing to VA service 
for at least one year, authorizes VA to make job offers up to 2 years 
prior to completion of residency and updates statutory minimum 
requirements for VA physicians to include medical residency; Jackson 
Lee (No. 13) that adds a study on whether data collection established 
under this bill should include data on the toxic exposure of National 
Guard service personnel when deployed in connection with a natural 
disaster in the United States or its territories; Levin (MI) (No. 14) 
that amends the definition of ``illnesses'' to include both mental and 
physical health; Levin (CA) (No. 15) that adds a new section similar to 
the Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act, which authorizes VA 
to award grants to expand outreach and claims assistance carried out 
through County Veterans Service Officers (CVSOs); Newman (No. 16) that 
requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to conduct a study on the 
exposure of members of the Armed Forces to herbicide agents, including 
Agent Orange and Agent Purple, in the Panama Canal Zone during the 
period beginning on January 1, 1958, and ending on December 31, 1999; 
Pappas (No. 17) that requires coordination between the Department of 
Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish guidelines 
used for training active duty personnel to provide awareness of 
potential risks of toxic exposure, as well as ways to prevent such 
exposures during combat; Plaskett (No. 18) that requires a GAO study 
and report on access and barriers to veterans benefits and services for 
veterans in territories of the United States; Porter (No. 19) that 
directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a public 
website, housed within the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center 
of the Department, to be a clearinghouse for the publication of all 
Federally funded research on toxic exposure; Ruiz (No. 21) that 
requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide budget information 
regarding incinerators and waste-to-energy waste disposal alternatives 
to burn pits; Scanlon (No. 24) that authorizes $150,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2023 to expand capacity of the Veterans Benefits Management System 
of the

[[Page D217]]

Department of Veterans Affairs to accommodate expected increased claims 
processing for newly eligible veterans; Slotkin (No. 25) that creates 
an interagency working group to (1) Identify collaborative research 
activities and resources, (2) Establish a 5-year strategic plan for 
coordination/planning for research surrounding toxic exposure, and (3) 
Submit a report to the VA Secretary with milestones/goals as part of 
the implementation; Spanberger (No. 26) that requires the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to submit a publicly available report to Congress that 
includes (1) a discussion of the effect of various different types of 
jet fuels used by the Armed Forces on the health of individuals by 
length of exposure; (2) an identification of the immediate symptoms of 
jet fuel exposure that may indicate future health risks; (3) a 
chronology of health safeguards implemented by the Armed Forces 
intended to reduce the exposure of members of the Armed Forces to jet 
fuel; and (4) an identification of any areas relating to jet fuel 
exposure about which new research needs to be conducted; Torres (CA) 
(No. 27) that requires the publication of the list of resources 
provided by the VA to toxic-exposed veterans be made available in 
English, Spanish, Chinese, and the 7 other most commonly spoken 
languages in the United States; and Torres (CA) (No. 28) that revises 
Section 505 to include language about the feasibility and advisability 
of VA looking at available early detection diagnostics and how they 
might be incorporated into veterans' care (by a yea-and-nay vote of 331 
yeas to 96 nays, Roll No. 52); and                
Pages H1237-42, H1255
  Brownley amendment (No. 6 printed in part B of H. Rept. 117-253) that 
ensures toxic exposed veterans have access to mammography screenings 
(by a yea-and-nay vote of 425 yeas with none voting ``nay'', Roll No. 
54).                                           
Pages H1245-46, H1256-57
Rejected:
  Miller Meeks amendment (No. 5 printed in part B of H. Rept. 117-253) 
that sought to replace the text of the bill with the Health Care for 
Burn Pit Veterans Act, which expands healthcare eligibility for certain 
combat veterans exposed to toxic substances to last for ten years after 
separation instead of five years, requires toxic exposure-related 
education and training for VA personnel, and requires screenings and 
studies to better identify potential associations between veteran 
medical conditions and toxic exposure (by a yea-and-nay vote of 203 
yeas to 223 nays, Roll No. 53).                
Pages H1242-45, H1255-56
  H. Res. 950, providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3967) was 
agreed to yesterday, March 1st.
Suspensions: The House agreed to suspend the rules and agreed to the 
following measure:
  Supporting the people of Ukraine: H. Res. 956, supporting the people 
of Ukraine, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 426 yeas to 3 nays, Roll No. 
51.                                                      
  Pages H1247-55
Presidential Message: Read a message from the President wherein he 
notified Congress that the national emergency with respect to Ukraine 
that was declared in Executive Order 13660 of March 6, 2014 is to 
continue in effect beyond March 6, 2022--referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed (H. Doc. 117-96). 
                                                             Page H1246
Senate Referral: S. 3600 was held at the desk.               
  Page H1246
Senate Message: Message received from the Senate today appears on page 
H1246.
Quorum Calls Votes: Four yea-and-nay votes developed during the 
proceedings of today and appear on pages H1254, H1255, H1255-56, and 
H1256-57.
Adjournment: The House met at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 7:42 p.m.