,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cai  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,february #f1       
#bjag,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself1 ,mr4 
,tillis1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,rounds1    
,mr4 ,franken1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mrs4     
,gillibrand1 and ,mr4 ,brown7 introduced
 the following bill2 which was read     
twice and referred to the ,committee on 
,veterans' ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
amend title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 
to direct the ,secretary of ,veterans   
,affairs to establish within the        
,department of ,veterans ,affairs a     
center of excellence in the prevention1 
diagnosis1 mitigation1 treatment1 and   
rehabilitation of health conditions     
relating to exposure to burn pits4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,helping ,veterans ,exposed to ,burn
 ,pits ,act4  #b4 ,establishment of     
center of excellence in prevention1     
diagnosis1 mitigation1 treatment1 and   
rehabilitation of health conditions     
relating to exposure to burn pits and   

other environmental exposures  7a7 ,in  
general ,subchapter ,,ii of chapter #gc 
of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is 
amended by adding at the end the        
following new section3  #gccj;,c4       
,center of excellence in prevention1    
diagnosis1 mitigation1 treatment1 and   
rehabilitation of health conditions     
relating to exposure to burn pits and   
other environmental exposures  7a7      
,establishment  7#a7 ,the ,secretary    
shall establish within the ,department a
 center of excellence in the prevention1
 diagnosis1 mitigation1 treatment1 and  
rehabilitation of health conditions     
relating to exposure to burn pits and   
other environmental exposures to carry  
out the responsibilities specified in   
subsection 7d74  7#b7 ,the ,secretary   
shall establish the center of excellence
 under paragraph 7#a7 through the use   
of-- 7,a7 the directives and policies of
 the ,department in effect as of the    
date of the enactment of the ,helping   
,veterans ,exposed to ,burn ,pits ,act2 

7,b7 the recommendations of the         
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states and ,inspector ,general of the  
,department in effect as of such date2  
and  7,c7 guidance issued by the        
,secretary of ,defense under section    
#cac of the ,national ,defense          
,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year   
#bjac 7,public ,law #aab-bci2 #aj       
,u4,s4,c4 #ajgd note74  7b7 ,selection  
of site ,in selecting the site for the  
center of excellence established under  
subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall    
consider entities that--  7#a7 are      
equipped with the specialized equipment 
needed to study1 diagnose1 and treat    
health conditions relating to exposure  
to burn pits and other environmental    
exposures2  7#b7 have a track record of 
publishing information relating to      
post-deployment health exposures among  
veterans who served in the ,armed       
,forces in support of ,operation ,iraqi 
,freedom and ,operation ,enduring       
,freedom2  7#c7 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 
,operation ,iraqi ,freedom and          
,operation ,enduring ,freedom2 and  7#d7
 have expertise in allergy1 immunology1 
and pulmonary diseases4  7c7            
,collaboration ,the ,secretary shall    
ensure that the center of excellence    
collaborates1 to the maximum extent     
practicable1 with the ,secretary of     
,defense1 institutions of higher        
education1 and other appropriate public 
and private entities 7including         
international entities7 to carry out the
 responsibilities specified in          
subsection 7d74  7d7 ,responsibilities  
,the center of excellence shall have the
 following responsibilities3 7#a7 ,to   
provide for the development1 testing1   
and dissemination within the ,department
 of best practices for the treatment of 
health conditions relating to exposure  
to burn pits and other environmental    

exposures4  7#b7 ,to provide guidance   
for the health systems of the           
,department and the ,department of      
,defense in determining the personnel   
required to provide quality health care 
for members of the ,armed ,forces and   
veterans with health conditions relating
 to exposure to burn pits and other     
environmental exposures4  7#c7 ,to      
establish1 implement1 and oversee a     
comprehensive program to train health   
professionals of the ,department and the
 ,department of ,defense in the         
treatment of health conditions relating 
to exposure to burn pits and other      
environmental exposures4  7#d7 ,to      
facilitate advancements in the study of 
the short-term and long-term effects of 
exposure to burn pits and other         
environmental exposures4  7#e7 ,to      
disseminate within medical facilities of
 the ,department best practices for     
training health professionals with      
respect to health conditions relating to
 exposure to burn pits and other        

environmental exposures4  7#f7 ,to      
conduct basic science and translational 
research on health conditions relating  
to exposure to burn pits and other      
environmental exposures for the purposes
 of understanding the etiology of such  
conditions and developing preventive    
interventions and new treatments4  7#g7 
,to provide medical treatment to        
veterans diagnosed with medical         
conditions specific to exposure to burn 
pits and other environmental exposures4 
7e7 ,use of burn pits registry data ,in 
carrying out its responsibilities under 
subsection 7d71 the center of excellence
 shall have access to and make use of   
the data accumulated by the burn pits   
registry established under section #bja 
of the ,dignified ,burial and ,other    
,veterans' ,benefits ,improvement ,act  
of #bjab 7,public ,law #aab-bfj2 #ch    
,u4,s4,c4 #ebg note74  7f7 ,definitions 
,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term burn   
pit means an area of land located in    
,afghanistan or ,iraq that--  7,a7 is   

designated by the ,secretary of ,defense
 to be used for disposing solid waste by
 burning in the outdoor air2 and  7,b7  
does not contain a commercially         
manufactured incinerator or other       
equipment specifically designed and     
manufactured for the burning of solid   
waste4  7#b7 ,the term other            
environmental exposures means exposure  
to environmental hazards1 including burn
 pits1 dust or sand1 hazardous          
materials1 and waste at any site in     
,afghanistan or ,iraq that emits smoke  
containing pollutants present in the    
environment or smoke from fires or      
explosions4  7g7 ,funding  7#a7 ,there  
is authorized to be appropriated to     
carry out this section #d1ajj1jjj for   
each of the first five fiscal years     
beginning after the date of the         
enactment of the ,helping ,veterans     
,exposed to ,burn ,pits ,act4  7#b7 ,the
 ,secretary may award additional amounts
 on a competitive basis to the center of
 excellence from the medical and        

prosthetics research account of the     
,department for the purpose of          
conducting research under this section  
relating to clinical and scientific     
investigation4  4  7b7 ,clerical        
amendment ,the table of sections at the 
beginning of chapter #gc of such title  
is amended by inserting after the item  
relating to section #gccj;,b the        
following new item3  #gccj;,c4 ,center  
of excellence in prevention1 diagnosis1 
mitigation1 treatment1 and              
rehabilitation of health conditions     
relating to exposure to burn pits and   
other environmental exposures4  4