[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.
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