[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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