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Title IV — Expansion of presumptions of service connection for forgotten veterans

S. 3003 · 117th Congress · Oct 19, 2021 · Lineage

IV Expansion of presumptions of service connection for forgotten veterans

Sec. 401 Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act of 2021

Section 1112(c)(3)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new clause:

“(v) Cleanup of Enewetak Atoll during the period beginning on January 1, 1977, and ending on December 31, 1980.”

Sec. 402 Treatment of veterans who participated in nuclear response near Palomares, Spain, as radiation-exposed veterans for purposes of presumption of service-connection of certain disabilities by Department of Veterans Affairs

Section 1112(c)(3)(B) of title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 401, is further amended by adding at the end the following new clause:

“(vi) Onsite participation in the response effort following the collision of a United States Air Force B–52 bomber and refueling plane that caused the release of four thermonuclear weapons in the vicinity of Palomares, Spain, during the period beginning January 17, 1966, and ending March 31, 1967.”

Sec. 403 Presumptions of service connection for diseases associated with exposures to certain herbicide agents for veterans who served in certain locations

(a)
In general— Section 1116 of title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 201, is further amended—
(1)
by striking “, during active military, naval, or air service, served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975” each place it appears and inserting “performed covered service”;
(2)
by striking “performed active military, naval, or air service in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975” each place it appears and inserting “performed covered service”; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(d) In this section, the term covered service means active military, naval, or air service—

“(1) performed in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975;

“(2) performed in Thailand at any United States or Royal Thai base during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on June 30, 1976, without regard to where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty the veteran performed;

“(3) performed in Laos during the period beginning on December 1, 1965, and ending on September 30, 1969;

“(4) performed in Cambodia at Mimot or Krek, Kompon Cham Province during the period beginning on April 16, 1969, and ending on April 30, 1969; or

“(5) performed on Guam or American Samoa, or in the territorial waters thereof, during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on July 31, 1980, or served on Johnston Atoll or on a ship that called at Johnston Atoll during the period beginning on January 1, 1972, and ending on September 30, 1977.”

(b)
Eligibility for hospital care and medical services— Section 1710(e)(4) is amended by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:

“(A) The term Vietnam-era herbicide-exposed veteran means a veteran who—

“(i) performed covered service, as defined in section 1116(c) of this title; or

“(ii) the Secretary finds may have been exposed during such service to dioxin or was exposed during such service to a toxic substance found in a herbicide or defoliant used for military purposes during such period.”

(c)
Clerical amendments—
(1)
Section heading— The heading for section 1116 is amended by striking and “the Republic of Vietnam” and inserting “certain locations”.
(2)
Table of sections— The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 11 of such title is amended by striking the item relating to section 1116 and inserting the following new item:

Sec. 404 Addition of additional diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents for which there is a presumption of service connection for veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam

Section 1116(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 9109 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283), is further amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:

“(L) Hypertension.

“(M) Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.”

Sec. 405 Improving compensation for disabilities occurring in Persian Gulf War veterans

(a)
Reduction in threshold of eligibility— Subsection (a)(1) of section 1117 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking “became manifest—” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting “became manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more at any time.”.
(b)
Permanent extension of period of eligibility—
(1)
In general— Such section is amended by striking subsection (b).
(2)
Conforming amendments— Such section, as amended by paragraph (1), is further amended—
(A)
by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (b) and (c), respectively; and
(B)
in subsection (a)(2)(C), by striking “under subsection (d)” and inserting “under subsection (c)”.
(c)
Establishing singular disability based questionnaire— Such section, as amended by subsection (b), is further amended by inserting after subsection (c) the following new subsection (d):

“(d) The Secretary shall develop a Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ), or successor questionnaire, such that if a Persian Gulf veteran presents with any one symptom associated with Gulf War Illness, use of such questionnaire is mandatory for health care personnel of the Department for the identification of Gulf War Illness.”

(d)
Training— Such section is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(i)

“(1) The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that health care personnel of the Department are appropriately trained to effectively carry out this section.

“(2) Not less frequently than once each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the actions taken by the Secretary to carry out paragraph (1).”

Sec. 406 Presumption of service connection for certain diseases associated with exposure to burn pits and other toxins

(a)
In general— Subchapter II of chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 302(a), is further amended by inserting after section 1120 the following new section:

“1120A. Presumption of service connection for certain diseases associated with exposure to burn pits and other toxins

“(a) Presumption of service connection—For the purposes of section 1110 of this title, and subject to section 1113 of this title, a disease specified in subsection (c) becoming manifest in a covered veteran shall be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated during active military, naval, or air service, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service.

“(b) Covered veterans—For purposes of this section, a covered veteran is a veteran presumed under subsection (a) of section 1120 of this title to have been exposed to a substance, chemical, or hazard listed in subsection (c) of such section.

“(c) Diseases specified—The diseases specified in this subsection are the following:

“(1) Asthma that was diagnosed after—

“(A) a deployment described in subparagraph (A) of section 1120(b)(1) of this title; or

“(B) a period of service for which a medal set forth under subparagraph (B) of such section was awarded.

“(2) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“(3) Chronic bronchitis.

“(4) Constrictive bronchiolitis or obliterative bronchiolitis.

“(5) Emphysema.

“(6) Pleuritis.

“(7) Pulmonary fibrosis.

“(8) Interstitial lung disease.

“(9) Sarcoidosis.

“(10) Respiratory cancer of any type.

“(11) Glioblastoma.

“(12) Rhinitis.

“(13) Sinusitis.”

(b)
Clerical amendment— The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, as amended by section 302(b), is further amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1120 the following new item:
(c)
Conforming amendment— Section 1113 of such title, as amended by section 302, is further amended by striking “or 1120” each place it appears and inserting “1120, or 1120A”.