[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 102 (Wednesday, June 17, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2901-S2902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5833. Ms. ROSEN (for herself, Ms. Cortez Masto, and Mrs.
Blackburn) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the
bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 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:
Subtitle ___--Veterans Exposed to Toxic Substances
SEC. ___1. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Sergeant Dave Crete
Fighting for the Overlooked Recognition of Groups Operating
in Toxic Test Environments in Nevada Veterans Act of 2026''
or the ``Sergeant Dave Crete FORGOTTEN Veterans Act of
2026''.
SEC. ___2. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) Active military, naval, air, or space service.--The
term ``active military, naval, air, or space service'' has
the meaning given that term in section 101(24) of title 38,
United States Code.
(2) Covered location.--The term ``covered location''
means--
(A) any facility on the most recent list of facilities
covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.)
published in the Federal Register by the Department of
Energy; or
(B) with respect to service on or after January 27, 1951,
any location within the Nevada Test and Training Range or the
Nevada National Security Site (as defined on May 19, 2026).
(3) Toxic exposure.--The term ``toxic exposure'' has the
meaning given that term in section 101(37) of title 38,
United States Code.
SEC. ___3. COORDINATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TO
IDENTIFY VETERANS WHO PERFORMED MILITARY
SERVICE AT COVERED LOCATIONS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in
coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall establish
and carry out a process to identify veterans who served at a
covered location and may have encountered toxic exposure
during active military, naval, air, or space service.
(b) Use of Available Information.--In carrying out
subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall use--
(1) military personnel and deployment records maintained by
the Department of Defense; and
(2) information provided by veterans through the registry
established under section 7.
(c) No Affirmative Evidence Required.--The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs may not require a veteran to provide
affirmative evidence of exposure to a specific toxic
substance if service at a covered location is established.
SEC. ___4. TREATMENT AS RADIATION-RISK ACTIVITIES BY
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.
Section 1112(c)(3)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following new clause:
``(viii) Active military, naval, air, or space service, or
onsite participation in any aspect of the development,
construction, operation, or maintenance of a military
installation (as defined in section 2801 of title 10), within
the area that comprises the Nevada Test and Training Range
and the Nevada National Security Site, as defined on May 19,
2026, during the period beginning on January 27, 1951, and
ending on the date which the Secretary of Defense, with
independent verification, certifies that the area that
comprises the Nevada Test and Training Range and the Nevada
National Security Site no longer pose radiation risk to
personnel present, or enactment of the Sergeant Dave Crete
Fighting for the Overlooked Recognition of Groups Operating
in Toxic Test Environments in Nevada Veterans Act of 2026,
whichever is later.''.
SEC. ___5. PRESUMPTION OF TOXIC EXPOSURE FOR VETERANS WHO
SERVED AT COVERED LOCATIONS AND PRESUMPTION OF
SERVICE CONNECTION FOR CERTAIN DISEASES.
Section 1119(c)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)(viii), by striking ``; or'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (B)(ix), by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
``(C) at any time, performed active military, naval, air,
or space service while assigned to a duty station in,
including airspace above, any facility on the most recent
list of facilities covered under the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42
U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) published in the Federal Register by the
Department of Energy; or
``(D) on or after January 27, 1951, performed active
military, naval, air, or space service while assigned to a
duty station in, including airspace above, any location
within the area that comprises the Nevada Test and Training
Range and the Nevada National Security Site, as defined on
May 19, 2026.''.
SEC. ___6. STUDY ON TOXIC EXPOSURES AT COVERED LOCATIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall seek to
enter into an agreement with the Department of Health and
Human Services or another appropriate scientific organization
to study potential toxic exposures and environmental hazards
at covered locations.
(b) Study.--The study required under subsection (a) shall--
(1) identify exposures associated with military occupations
of veterans who served at covered locations, including
exposures relating to chemicals, compounds, agents, and other
phenomena; and
(2) review the literature to determine associations between
such exposures and the incidence or prevalence of overall
cancer morbidity and overall cancer mortality, and determine,
to the extent possible, the prevalence and mortality of
cancers among such veterans by using available sources of
data, which may include--
(A) health care and other administrative databases of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense,
and the military departments, respectively; and
(B) the national death index maintained by the National
Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
(c) Transfer Authority.--Amounts authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Defense to carry out the
study required under subsection (a) may be transferred
without regard to section 2215 of title 10, United States
Code, to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to pay
for the study.
(d) Report.--At the conclusion of the study required under
subsection (a), the Department of Health and Human Services
or other appropriate scientific organization, as the case may
be, shall submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate, the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives, the
President of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering,
and Medicine, and the Chair of the National Research Council
a report containing the results of the study.
SEC. ___7. ESTABLISHMENT OF COVERED LOCATION VETERAN
REGISTRY.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
establish and maintain a registry of veterans who served at
covered locations who may have encountered toxic exposure
during active military, naval, air, or space service (in this
section referred to as the ``registry'').
(b) Purposes.--The registry shall be used to--
(1) collect, process, maintain, and consolidate
epidemiological information required to analyze incidence of
adverse health effects among veterans who served in covered
locations;
(2) facilitate coordination between the Department of
Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense to verify
service;
(3) inform veterans of available health care, benefits, and
screenings; and
(4) support outreach, research, and claims adjudication
related to toxic exposure.
(c) Opt-out and Recruitment.--
(1) Opt-out.--Participants must have the opportunity to
opt-out of inclusion in the registry.
(2) Recruitment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
recruit veterans described in subsection (a) who are not
represented in data sources of the Department of Defense or
the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(d) Data-sharing.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
share information collected through the registry with the
Secretary of Defense, consistent with applicable privacy and
security laws, for purposes of identifying affected veterans
and improving care and benefits delivery.
SEC. ___8. CLASSIFICATION OF CERTAIN FACILITIES AS LOCATIONS
WHERE CONTAMINATION OCCURRED AND MEMBERS OF THE
ARMED FORCES WERE EXPOSED TO TOXIC SUBSTANCES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall classify
the following locations as a location where contamination
occurred:
(1) On and after January 27, 1951, the Nevada Test and
Training Range, including the Nevada National Security Site
(as such site is defined on May 19, 2026).
(2) Any facility on the most recent list of facilities
covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.)
published in the Federal Register by the Secretary of Energy.
(b) Identification Process.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish a
process to identify members of the Armed Forces and former
members of the Armed Forces that were stationed at a facility
specified in subsection (a).
(2) Documentation.--The Secretary of Defense shall
establish a process to permit members of the Armed Forces and
former members of the Armed Forces to provide documentation
or evidence of their assignment at a facility specified in
subsection (a) to assist the Secretary in identifying those
members and former members under paragraph (1).
(3) Efforts.--The Secretary of Defense shall make all
efforts to identify individuals
[[Page S2902]]
described in paragraph (1) and shall not require members of
the Armed Forces or former members of the Armed Forces to
submit evidence of their stationing.
(c) Sharing of Information.--The Secretary of Defense shall
share with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs all information
and documentation gathered under subsection (b) in order to
provide the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with adequate
documentation of the service of members of the Armed Forces
and former members of the Armed Forces at facilities
specified in subsection (a) and any injuries, exposures, or
illnesses related to such service, for the purpose of
establishing any claim for benefits under the laws
administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to which
such members and former members are legally entitled.
______