[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2683-S2684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 554. Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. Moran, and Ms. Hirono) submitted
an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2226, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 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 end of subtitle G of title X, insert the following:
SEC. 10__. RED HILL HEALTH IMPACTS.
(a) Registry for Impacted Individuals of the Red Hill
Incident.--
(1) Establishment of registry.--The Secretary of Health and
Human Services (referred to in this subsection as the
``Secretary'') shall establish within the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry or the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention or through an award of a grant or
contract, as the Secretary determines appropriate, a Red Hill
Incident exposure registry to collect data on health
implications of petroleum contaminated water for impacted
individuals on a voluntary basis. Such registry shall be
complementary to, and not duplicative of, the Red Hill
Incident Report of the Defense Occupational and Environmental
Health Readiness System.
(2) Other responsibilities.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and such State and local
authorities or other partners as the Secretary of Health and
Human Services considers appropriate, shall--
(i) review the Federal programs and services available to
individuals exposed to petroleum;
(ii) review current research on petroleum exposure in order
to identify additional research needs;
(iii) identify effective services, individuals and
communities affected by petroleum contaminated water; and
(iv) undertake any other review or activities that the
Secretary determines to be appropriate.
(B) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 6
additional years, the Secretary shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on the review
and activities undertaken under subparagraph (A) that
includes--
(i) strategies for communicating and engaging with
stakeholders on the Red Hill Incident;
(ii) the number of impacted and potentially impacted
individuals enrolled in the registry established under
paragraph (1);
(iii) processes for referring such registry enrollees to
comprehensive, coordinated services to mitigate the effects
of petroleum exposure;
(iv) measures and frequency of follow-up to collect data
and specimens related to exposure, health, and developmental
milestones as appropriate; and
(v) a summary of data and analyses on exposure, health, and
developmental milestones for impacted individuals.
(C) Consultation.--In carrying out subparagraphs (A) and
(B), the Secretary shall consult with non-Federal experts,
including individuals with certification in epidemiology,
toxicology, mental health, pediatrics, and environmental
health, and members of the impacted community.
(3) 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, such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal
years 2024 through 2030 for the Secretary of Health and Human
Services to carry out this subsection.
(b) Red Hill Epidemiological Health Outcomes Study.--
(1) 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.
(2) 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 paragraph
(4) and the study or studies under paragraph (1).
(3) 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 2024 for
the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out the
assessment under paragraph (4), and such sums as may be
necessary to complete the study or studies under paragraph
(1).
(4) Feasibility 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 paragraph (1),
which may include--
(A) a strategy to recruit impacted individuals to
participate in the study or studies, including incentives for
participation;
(B) a description of protocols and methodologies to assess
health outcomes from the Red Hill Incident, including data
management protocols to secure the privacy and security of
the personal information of impacted individuals; and
(C) the periodicity for data collection that takes into
account the differences between health care practices among
impacted individuals who are--
(i) members of the Armed Forces on active duty or spouses
or dependents of such members;
(ii) members of the Armed Forces separating from active
duty or spouses or dependents of such members;
(iii) veterans and other individuals with access to health
care from the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
(iv) individuals without access to health care from the
Department of Defense or the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(D) 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;
[[Page S2684]]
(E) an identification of exposures resulting from the Red
Hill Incident that may qualify individuals to be eligible for
participation in the study or studies as a result of those
exposures; and
(F) steps that will be taken to provide individuals
impacted by the Red Hill Incident with information on
available resources and services.
(5) Potentially impacted individuals.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
may enlarge the scope of the study or studies under paragraph
(1) to include potentially impacted individuals based on--
(i) the request of a potentially impacted individual, as
applicable;
(ii) the recommendation of the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or any contracted party under
paragraph (2);
(iii) the exposures identified in paragraph (4)(E); or
(iv) other exigent circumstances.
(B) Treatment of potentially impacted individuals.--If,
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary enlarges the scope of
the study or studies under paragraph (1), potentially
impacted individuals shall be treated as impacted individuals
for purposes of this subsection.
(6) Notifications; briefings.--
(A) In general.--Not later than one year after the
completion of the feasibility assessment under paragraph (4),
and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall--
(i) notify impacted individuals on the interim findings of
the study or studies; and
(ii) brief the appropriate congressional committees on the
interim findings of the study or studies.
(B) Final notification.--Upon completion of the study or
studies under paragraph (1), 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 paragraph (7)(B).
(7) Reports.--
(A) Annual reports.--Not later than one year after the date
of the commencement of the study or studies under paragraph
(1), 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.
(B) Final report.--Upon completion of the study or studies
under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Health and Human
Services--
(i) 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
(ii) may publish such report in a scientific publication.
(c) 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) Red hill incident.--The term ``Red Hill Incident''
means the release of fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage
Facility, Oahu, 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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