[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5768-S5769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6249. Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Moran) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 5499 
submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) and intended to be 
proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize appropriations for fiscal 
year 2023 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 appropriate place in title X, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. RED HILL EPIDEMIOLOGICAL HEALTH OUTCOMES STUDY.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and such State and local 
     health authorities or other partners as the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services considers appropriate, shall 
     conduct an epidemiological study or studies for a period of 
     not less than 20 years to assess health outcomes for impacted 
     individuals of the Red Hill Incident.
       (b) Additional Contracts.--The Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services may contract with independent research 
     institutes or consultants, nonprofit or public entities, 
     laboratories, or medical schools, as the Secretary considers 
     appropriate, that are not part of the Federal Government to 
     assist with the feasibility assessment required by subsection 
     (d) and the study or studies under subsection (a).
       (c) Funding.--Without regard to section 2215 of title 10, 
     United States Code, the Secretary of the Defense is 
     authorized to provide, from amounts made available to such 
     Secretary, no less than $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 for 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out the 
     assessment under subsection (d), and such sums as may be 
     necessary to complete the study or studies under subsection 
     (a).
       (d) Feasability Assessment.--Not later than one year after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees the results of a feasibility 
     assessment to inform the design of the epidemiological study 
     or studies to assess health outcomes for impacted individuals 
     and a plan for such study or studies under subsection (a), 
     which shall include--
       (1) a strategy to recruit impacted individuals to 
     participate in the study or studies, including incentives for 
     participation;
       (2) a description of protocols and methodology to be used 
     in the study or studies, including data management to secure 
     the privacy and security of the personal information of 
     impacted individuals; and
       (3) the periodicity for data collection that takes into 
     account the differences between health care practices among 
     impacted individuals who are--
       (A) members of the Armed Forces on active duty or spouses 
     or dependents of such members;
       (B) members of the Armed Forces separating from active duty 
     or spouses or dependents of such members;
       (C) veterans and other individuals with access to health 
     care from the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
       (D) individuals without access to health care from the 
     Department of Defense or the Department of Veterans Affairs;
       (4) a description of methodologies to analyze data received 
     from the study or studies to determine possible connections 
     between exposure to water contaminated during the Red Hill 
     Incident and adverse impacts to the health of impacted 
     individuals;
       (5) an identification of criteria to evaluate the 
     advisability of enlarging the study or studies to include 
     potentially impacted individuals; and
       (6) steps that will be taken to provide study participants 
     with information on available resources and services.
       (e) Potentially Impacted Individuals.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     may enlarge the scope of the study or studies under 
     subsection (a) to include potentially impacted individuals 
     based on--
       (A) the request of a potentially impacted individual, as 
     applicable;
       (B) the recommendation of the Secretary of Defense, the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or any contracted party under 
     subsection (b);
       (C) the criteria identified in subsection (d)(5); or
       (D) other exigent circumstances.
       (2) Treatment of potentially impacted individuals.--If, 
     under paragraph (1), the Secretary enlarges the scope of the 
     study or studies under subsection (a), potentially impacted 
     individuals shall be treated as impacted individuals for 
     purposes of this section.
       (f) Notifications; Briefings.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the 
     completion of the feasibility assessment under subsection 
     (d), and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services shall--
       (A) brief the appropriate congressional committees on the 
     interim findings of the study or studies; and
       (B) notify impacted individuals on the interim findings of 
     the study or studies.
       (2) Final notification.--Upon completion of the study or 
     studies under subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services shall notify the appropriate congressional 
     committees and all impacted individuals of the completion of 
     the study or studies and the publication of the final report 
     under subsection (g)(2).
       (g) Reports.--
       (1) Annual reports.--Not later than one year after the date 
     of the commencement of the study or studies under subsection 
     (a), and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services shall publish on the website of the Department 
     of Health and Human Services a report on the interim findings 
     of the study or studies.
       (2) Final report.--Upon completion of the study or studies 
     under subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services--
       (A) shall publish on a publicly available internet website 
     of the Department of Health and Human Services a report on 
     the findings of the study or studies; and
       (B) may publish such report in a scientific publication.
       (h) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
     of the Senate;
       (B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on 
     Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
       (C) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate;
       (D) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
     Representatives;
       (E) the Committee on Armed Services and the Subcommittee on 
     Defense of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (F) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (2) Impacted individual.--The term ``impacted individual'' 
     means an individual who, at the time of the Red Hill 
     Incident, lived or worked in a building or residence served 
     by the community water system at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-
     Hickam, Oahu, Hawaii.
       (3) Potentially impacted individual.--The term 
     ``potentially impacted individual'' means an individual who, 
     after the Red Hill Incident, lived or worked in a building or 
     residence served by the community water system at Joint Base 
     Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Oahu, Hawaii.
       (4) Red hill incident.--The term ``Red Hill Incident'' 
     means the release of fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage 
     Facility, Oahu,

[[Page S5769]]

     Hawaii, into the sole-source basal aquifer located 100 feet 
     below the facility, contaminating the community water system 
     at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on November 20, 2021.
                                 ______