HR 1279
115th Congress
House
Armed Forces and National Security
Afghanistan
Allergies
Asia
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Department of Veterans Affairs
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental health
Executive agency funding and structure
Fires
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Health facilities and institutions
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Immunology and vaccination
Iraq
Medical education
Medical research
Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act
Introduced: March 1, 2017
See on congress.gov
Everywhere this bill has been
4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 27, 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Mar 23, 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Mar 1, 2017
Referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Mar 1, 2017
Introduced in House
Plain-English summary
Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a center of excellence in the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of health conditions relating to exposure to burn pits and other environmental exposures in Afghanistan or Iraq.
The VA shall, in selecting the center's site, consider entities that:
- are equipped with the specialized equipment needed to study, diagnose, and treat health conditions relating to such exposure;
- have a track record of publishing information on post-deployment health exposures among veterans who served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom;
- have access to animal models and in vitro models of dust immunology and lung injury consistent with the injuries of members of the Armed Forces who served in support of such operations; and
- have expertise in allergy, immunology, and pulmonary diseases.
The VA shall ensure that the center collaborates with the Department of Defense (DOD), institutions of higher education, and other appropriate public and private entities to:
- provide for dissemination within the VA of best practices for the treatment of such conditions and the training of health professionals,
- provide guidance for the VA and DOD health systems in determining the personnel required to provide quality health care for members of the Armed Forces and veterans with such conditions,
- establish, and oversee a program to train VA and DOD health professionals in the treatment of such conditions,
- facilitate advancements in the study of the short-term and long-term effects of such exposure,
- conduct basic science and translational research on such conditions for the purposes of understanding the etiology of such conditions and developing preventive interventions and new treatments, and
- provide medical treatment to veterans diagnosed with medical conditions specific to exposure to burn pits and other environmental exposures.
The center shall have access to and make use of the data accumulated by the burn pits registry.
What's happening now
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Committees of jurisdiction
4