[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 129 (Tuesday, August 2, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3866-S3867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 737--DESIGNATING AUGUST 10, 2022, AS ``TOXIC EXPOSURE 
                            AWARENESS DAY''

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. Rounds) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 737

       Whereas, during the Vietnam War, the United States sprayed 
     between 11,000,000 and 12,000,000 gallons of Agent Orange, 
     potentially exposing millions of members of the Armed Forces 
     stationed in Vietnam and elsewhere to this toxic mixture of 
     herbicides;
       Whereas, after the Vietnam War, it took the United States 
     Government years to recognize the link between Agent Orange 
     and the health conditions being experienced by thousands of 
     returning members of the Armed Forces;
       Whereas the Agent Orange Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-4; 38 
     U.S.C. 1116 note), provided Vietnam veterans with a 
     presumption of service connection for diseases associated 
     with exposure to certain herbicide agents;
       Whereas members of the Armed Forces have been exposed to 
     toxic substances while serving at home, including at Camp 
     Lejeune, where as many as 1,000,000 members of the Armed 
     Forces, family members, and staff may have been exposed to 
     drinking water containing contaminants that have been linked 
     to adverse health effects;
       Whereas members of the Armed Forces have been exposed to 
     toxic radiation while engaged in cleanup operations, 
     including in--
       (1) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
       (2) Thule, Greenland; and
       (3) Palomares, Spain.
       Whereas, from 1985 to 2001, at Naval Air Facility Atsugi in 
     Atsugi, Japan, personnel and family members of members of the 
     Armed Forces, including dependent children, may have been 
     exposed to environmental contaminants from off-base waste 
     incinerators.
       Whereas the Armed Forces used burn pits in Iraq, Kuwait, 
     Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and 
     Bahrain during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert 
     Storm;
       Whereas more than 250 burn pits were used during military 
     operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Djibouti after September 
     11, 2001;
       Whereas veterans encountered hazardous exposures while 
     serving at the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, commonly known as 
     K2, in Uzbekistan from 2001 to 2005;
       Whereas there were no regulations restricting what the 
     Armed Forces could burn in burn pits until 2009;
       Whereas the open air burn pits used by the Armed Forces in 
     many overseas operations may have exposed members of the 
     Armed Forces to a variety of potentially harmful substances;
       Whereas the Department of Defense estimates that 
     approximately 3,500,000 members of the Armed Forces, who 
     served in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations 
     after August 2, 1990, or in Afghanistan after September 11, 
     2001, may have been exposed to airborne hazards;
       Whereas an Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America survey 
     found that 86 percent of post-9/11 veterans who served in 
     Iraq and Afghanistan say they were exposed to burn pits or 
     airborne toxic materials;
       Whereas hundreds of thousands of members of the Armed 
     Forces and other personnel who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, 
     Kuwait, Saudi Araibia, Djibouti, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, United 
     Arab Emirates, and certain sea locations have signed up for a 
     burn pit registry created in 2014 by the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs for veterans to register health problems 
     associated with exposure to burn pits; and
       Whereas designating August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure 
     Awareness Day'' would be an appropriate way to honor the 
     members of the Armed Forces who were exposed to toxic 
     substances while serving in defense of the United States: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure 
     Awareness Day'';
       (2) honors and recognizes the contributions of the members 
     of the Armed Forces and veterans who were exposed to toxic 
     substances;
       (3) encourages States and local governments to designate 
     August 10, 2022, as ``Toxic Exposure Awareness Day'';
       (4) encourages the Department of Veterans Affairs (referred 
     to in this resolution as ``VA'') to conduct additional 
     outreach and promote awareness of the resources that the

[[Page S3867]]

     VA offers for those to exposed to toxic substances, 
     including--
       (A) offering no-cost health screenings;
       (B) registering for the VA Airborne Hazards and Open Burn 
     Pit Registry;
       (C) providing information on the Electronic Health Record 
     (commonly known as ``EHR'');
       (D) reviewing the VA insurance and benefits, including 
     review of disability claims;
       (E) connecting with County Veteran Service Officers; and
       (F) promoting awareness campaigns;
       (5) encourages veterans to use the available resources at 
     the VA and Veteran Service Organizations (referred to in this 
     resolution as ``VSOs'');
       (6) encourages VSOs to continue outreach efforts to connect 
     veterans with available health resources, from both VSOs and 
     the United States Government;
       (7) promotes continued medical research regarding burn pit 
     exposure risks, whether through the Airborne Hazards and Burn 
     Pits Center of Excellence or other partnership programming 
     with the VA or the United States Government;
       (8) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
     Toxic Exposure Awareness Day, whether by familiarizing 
     themselves with resources available to all veterans or 
     thanking members of the Armed Forces for their sacrifice; and
       (9) demonstrates the resolve that the people of the United 
     States shall never forget the sacrifices and service of the 
     generations of veterans who served in the Armed Forces at 
     home and around the world.

                          ____________________