,i #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #eibj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #bb1 #bjah,ms4 ,shea-,porter introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs and the ,secretary of ,defense to submit to ,congress an annual report on open burn pits1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,airborne ,hazards and ,open ,burn ,pit ,registry ,improvement ,act4 #b4 ,burn pits 7a7 #bjah ,,ndaa ,section #gch of the ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjah 7,public ,law #aae-ia7 is amended by inserting in consultation with the ,war ,related ,illness and ,injury ,study ,center1 before shall coordinate efforts4 7b7 ,reports 7#a7 ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs ,not later than ,january #a1 #bjai1 and annually thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall submit reports to the ,committees on ,armed ,services and on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and ,senate regarding the following3 7,a7 ,new research and proposed policy changes of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs regarding efforts to identify1 investigate1 diagnose1 treat1 and heal medical conditions suffered by veterans related to exposure to open burn pits4 7,b7 ,the number of veterans who received hospital care or medical services furnished by the ,secretary during the preceding year for medical conditions related to exposure to open burn pits1 including-- 7i7 the medical conditions related to exposure to open burn pits2 and 7ii7 when and where the veterans were exposed to open burn pits4 7,c7 ,plans of the ,secretary to utilize and improve the ,airborne ,hazards and ,open ,burn ,pit ,registry 7referred to in this section as the ,registry71 including-- 7i7 outreach to veterans who have already registered responded to the ,registry questionnaire regarding new information learned about medical conditions related to exposure to open burn pits2 7ii7 outreach to members of the ,armed ,forces and veterans who were exposed to open burn pits to encourage such persons to respond to the ,registry questionnaire2 7iii7 partnerships between the ,secretary and the ,secretary of ,defense to identify and inform members of the ,armed ,forces and veterans who were exposed to open burn pits2 7iv7 actions taken to simplify the ,registry questionnaire1 including allowing members of the ,armed ,forces and veterans to input pertinent information automatically from the ,departments of ,veterans ,affairs and ,defense2 7v7 actions taken to allow members of the ,armed ,forces and veterans to update answers to the ,registry questionnaire2 7vi7 actions taken to allow the matching of information in the ,registry to data in the possession of the ,health ,administration and ,benefits ,administration of the ,department2 7vii7 actions taken to make data described in clause 7vi7 available for longitudinal studies2 7viii7 privacy issues related to the ,registry that the ,secretary has identified and actions taken to mitigate such issues2 and 7ix7 actions taken to model the ,registry on other successful registries1 including registries operated by the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention4 7,d7 ,an overview of initial claims and approved claims for compensation or health care related to open burn pit exposures4 7,e7 ,coordination between the ,department and any other ,federal agency or non-governmental entity related to the research and treatment of medical conditions related to exposure to open burn pits4 7,f7 ,actions taken by the ,secretary to update the #bjaa ,institute of ,medicine report titled ,long-,term ,health ,consequences of ,exposure to ,burn ,pits in ,iraq and ,afghanistan4 7,g7 ,any plan of the ,secretary to conduct research to address areas that the ,national ,academy of ,medicine identifies as having limited1 suggestive1 inadequate1 or insufficient evidence to determine whether an association exists between exposure to open burn pits and an illness1 symptom1 or disease4 7,h7 ,the strategy of the ,secretary to educate health care providers 7including non-,department providers7 who treat veterans regarding the assessment1 diagnosis1 and treatment of medical conditions related to exposure to open burn pits1 including the following3 7i7 ,how the ,secretary measures whether providers are aware of and versed in the environmental exposure knowledge base4 7ii7 ,whether and how providers screen veterans for medical conditions related to exposure to open burn pits4 7iii7 ,methods 7including direct questions7 that providers use to identify veterans who were likely exposed to open burn pits4 7iv7 ,whether and how providers refer veterans who were exposed to open burn pits to appropriate specialists4 7v7 ,whether and how the ,secretary tracks referrals described in clause 7v7 and related outcomes4 7vi7 ,whether the ,secretary is conducting any ongoing research regarding veterans who were exposed to open burn pits and related health outcomes4 7vii7 ,what training the ,secretary provides for providers regarding the assessment1 diagnosis1 and treatment of medical conditions related to exposure to open burn pits4 7viii7 ,how many providers have received training described in clause 7viii74 7,i7 ,coordination with the ,department of ,defense and related information regarding veterans exposed to open burn pits4 7,j7 ,resources and legislation the ,secretary determines to be necessary to identify1 mitigate1 investigate1 diagnose1 treat1 and heal medical conditions related to open burn pit exposures4 7#b7 ,secretary of ,defense ,not later than ,january #a1 #bjai1 and annually thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit reports to the ,committees on ,armed ,services and on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and ,senate regarding the following3 7,a7 ,actions taken to identify and inform members of the ,armed ,forces and veterans exposed to open burn pits1 including-- 7i7 the formation of any partnership between the ,departments of ,defense and ,veterans ,affairs to identify such individuals2 7ii7 actions taken to ensure such individuals are screened for medical conditions related to open burn pit exposures2 and 7iii7 actions taken to ensure that1 before such members of the ,armed ,forces separate from active service1 the members-- 7,i7 receive education about services available from the ,departments of ,defense and ,veterans ,affairs regarding medical conditions related to open burn pit exposures2 and 7,,ii7 respond to the ,registry questionnaire4 7,b7 ,actions taken and plans to mitigate future exposures of members of the ,armed ,forces to open burn pits4 7,c7 ,alternatives to open burn pits and evaluations of such alternatives4 7,d7 ,any exposures of members of the ,armed ,forces to open burn pits operated by an entity other than the ,department of ,defense4 7,e7 ,data shared with the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs regarding-- 7i7 members of the ,armed ,forces and veterans exposed to open burn pits2 7ii7 when and where members of the ,armed ,forces and veterans were exposed to open burn pits2 7iii7 the contents of burn pits identified under clause 7ii72 7iv7 the duration of exposures identified under clause 7ii72 7v7 data collected by industrial hygienists regarding exposures of members of the ,armed ,forces to open burn pits2 7vi7 data collected from members of the ,armed ,forces in post-deployment health assessments that the ,secretary determines are related to open burn pit exposures4 7,f7 ,plans and actions of the ,secretary to collect surveillance data to enhance accuracy regarding the number of service members exposed1 characteristics of those exposed1 and patterns or linkages identified in those exposed4 7,g7 ,plans and actions of the ,secretary to link data collected under subparagraph 7,f7 to health data regarding veterans that is in the possession of the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs4