S. 952 · 117th Congress
Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2021
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 117th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
GillibrandSponsor3 cosponsors · 1 D, 2 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2021
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Mar 24, 2021
Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2021
This bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for specified diseases associated with exposure to burn pits (an area used for burning solid waste in open air without equipment) and other toxins by veterans who were awarded specified medals on or after August 2, 1990. Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded.
Under the bill, if the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) receives a written petition to add a disease to the list, the VA must request a determination by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine with respect to whether there is a positive association between the exposure of humans to a covered toxin and the occurrence of the disease in humans.
The bill makes disability or death of certain employees from specified diseases compensable as a work injury. Specifically, such employees are those who were employees of the Department of State, the Department of Defense, or an element of the intelligence community on or after August 2, 1990, and carried out job responsibilities for at least 30 days during a contingency operation.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act of 2021
Latest action (Apr 28, 2021): Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Mar 24, 2021
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.