,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ge ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #i1 #bjag,mrs4 ,mc,caskill 7for herself and ,mr4 ,blunt7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to provide for the reconsideration of claims for disability compensation for veterans who were the subjects of experiments by the ,department of ,defense during ,world ,war ,,ii that were conducted to assess the effects of mustard gas or lewisite on people1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,arla ,harrell ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,during ,world ,war ,,ii1 the ,government carried out a program of testing mustard gas and lewisite exposure on members of the ,armed ,forces4 ,this program was classified and participating members were threatened with dishonorable discharges and imprisonment if they revealed their participation4 7#b7 ,on ,july #ab1 #aigc1 a fire at the ,national ,personnel ,records ,center destroyed more than #af1jjj1jjj official military personnel files4 ,the records affected more than #hj percent of members and former members of the ,army who were discharged between ,november #a1 #aiab1 and ,january #a1 #aifj4 ,as a result1 due to no fault of their own1 veterans who were subjected to testing under the program are unable to rely on a full and complete record of their service to produce proof that they were subjected to such testing4 7#c7 ,the ,armed ,forces did not fully acknowledge its role in the program until the last of the experiments was declassified in #aige1 #cj years after testing under the program was completed and #b years after the fire destroyed military records at the ,national ,personnel ,records ,center4 7#d7 ,the oath of secrecy was not effectively lifted until #aiia1 #df years after the testing was completed1 further hampering the ability of veterans to provide proof that they were subjected to the testing4 7#e7 ,the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs is relying on incomplete information to adjudicate claims1 which often provides conflicting data regarding veterans' mustard gas or lewisite exposure due to recordkeeping failures outside of the veterans' control4 7#f7 ,the ,department has rejected approximately #ij percent of claims for benefits under laws administered by the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs relating to mustard gas or lewisite exposure4 7#g7 ,veterans who participated in the mustard gas or lewisite testing were not afforded the same opportunity to provide evidence of their exposure for disability compensation and ought to be afforded unique consideration4 #c4 ,reconsideration of claims for disability compensation for veterans who were the subjects of mustard gas or lewisite experiments during ,world ,war ,,ii 7a7 ,reconsideration of claims for disability compensation in connection with exposure to mustard gas or lewisite 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,defense1 shall reconsider all claims for compensation described in paragraph 7#b7 and make a new determination regarding each such claim4 7#b7 ,claims for compensation described ,claims for compensation described in this paragraph are claims for compensation under chapter #aa of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 that the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs determines are in connection with exposure to mustard gas or lewisite during active military1 naval1 or air service during ,world ,war ,,ii and that were denied before the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7#c7 ,presumption of exposure ,in carrying out paragraph 7#a71 if the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs or the ,secretary of ,defense makes a determination regarding whether a veteran experienced full-body exposure to mustard gas or lewisite1 such ,secretary-- 7,a7 shall presume that the veteran experienced full-body exposure to mustard gas or lewisite1 as the case may be1 unless proven otherwise2 and 7,b7 may not use information contained in the ,do,d and ,,va ,chemical ,biological ,warfare ,database or any list of known testing sites for mustard gas or lewisite maintained by the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs or the ,department of ,defense as the sole reason for determining that the veteran did not experience full-body exposure to mustard gas or lewisite4 7#d7 ,report ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and not less frequently than once every #ij days thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a report specifying any claims reconsidered under paragraph 7#a7 that were denied during the #ij-;day period preceding the submittal of the report1 including the rationale for each such denial4 7b7 ,development of policy ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs and the ,secretary of ,defense shall jointly establish a policy for processing future claims for compensation under chapter #aa of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 that the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs determines are in connection with exposure to mustard gas or lewisite during active military1 naval1 or air service during ,world ,war ,,ii4 7c7 ,investigation and report by ,secretary of ,defense ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall-- 7#a7 for purposes of determining whether a site should be added to the list of the ,department of ,defense of sites where mustard gas or lewisite testing occurred1 investigate and assess sites where-- 7,a7 the ,army ,corps of ,engineers has uncovered evidence of mustard gas or lewisite testing2 or 7,b7 more than two veterans have submitted claims for compensation under chapter #aa of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 in connection with exposure to mustard gas or lewisite at such site and such claims were denied2 and 7#b7 submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress a report on experiments conducted by the ,department of ,defense during ,world ,war ,,ii to assess the effects of mustard gas and lewisite on people1 which shall include-- 7,a7 a list of each location where such an experiment occurred1 including locations investigated and assessed under paragraph 7#a72 7,b7 the dates of each such experiment2 and 7,c7 the number of members of the ,armed ,forces who were exposed to mustard gas or lewisite in each such experiment4 7d7 ,investigation and report by ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall-- 7#a7 investigate and assess-- 7,a7 the actions taken by the ,secretary to reach out to individuals who had been exposed to mustard gas or lewisite in the experiments described in subsection 7c77#b77;,a72 and 7,b7 the claims for disability compensation under laws administered by the ,secretary that were filed with the ,secretary and the percentage of such claims that were denied by the ,secretary2 and 7#b7 submit to the appropriate committees of ,congress-- 7,a7 a report on the findings of the ,secretary with respect to the investigations and assessments carried out under paragraph 7#a72 and 7,b7 a comprehensive list of each location where an experiment described in subsection 7c77#b77;,a7 was conducted4 7e7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the terms active military1 naval1 or air service1 veteran1 and ,world ,war ,,ii have the meanings given such terms in section #aja of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,the term appropriate committees of ,congress means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs1 the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 and the ,special ,committee on ,aging of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs and the ,committee on ,armed ,services of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#c7 ,the term full-body exposure1 with respect to mustard gas or lewisite1 has the meaning given that term by the ,secretary of ,defense4