,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #djhf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #bf1 #bjai,mr4 ,bilirakis 7for himself and ,mr4 ,ruiz7 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 to determine presumptions of service connection for illnesses associated with open burn pits1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protection for ,veterans' ,burn ,pit ,exposure ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,determination of presumptions of service connection for illnesses associated with open burn pits 7a7 ,in general 7#a7 ,determination required ,not later than #fj days after the date on which the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs receives the results of a covered study1 the ,secretary shall make a determination whether a positive association exists between-- 7,a7 the exposure of humans to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes caused by open air burn pits and other airborne hazards2 and 7,b7 the occurrence of a diagnosed illness in humans4 7#b7 ,bases of determination ,in making a determination under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall consider-- 7,a7 whether the evidence is statistically significant1 capable of replication1 and able to withstand peer review demonstrating that there is positive association between the exposure and the occurrence of a diagnosed illness2 7,b7 the results of a covered study2 and 7,c7 all other sound medical and scientific evidence available to the ,secretary4 7#c7 ,presumption ,if the ,secretary determines that a positive association exists between exposure and a diagnosed illness pursuant to paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall prescribe regulations providing that-- 7,a7 a presumption of service connection is warranted for the illness covered by that determination if the illness first becomes manifest within the period1 if any1 prescribed in such regulations in a covered veteran2 and 7,b7 such covered veteran shall be presumed to have been exposed to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits unless there is conclusive evidence to establish that-- 7i7 the covered veteran was not exposed to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes caused by open burn pits in the course of service in the ,armed ,forces described in subsection 7c77#a72 or 7ii7 the illness first became manifest prior to the covered veteran's exposure4 7#d7 ,submission ,upon the date on which the ,secretary makes the determination under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,senate an explanation of such determination4 7b7 ,regulations 7#a7 ,proposed regulations 7,a7 ,timing ,if the ,secretary determines under subsection 7a77#a7 that a presumption of service connection is warranted for an illness1 the ,secretary shall1 not later than #ahj days after making such determination-- 7i7 issue proposed regulations setting forth the determination2 or 7ii7 submit the initial report under subparagraph 7,b74 7,b7 ,reports ,if the ,secretary does not issue proposed regulations by the deadline established in subparagraph 7,a71 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,senate a report on the status of such proposed regulations4 ,on a quarterly basis thereafter until the date on which the ,secretary issues such proposed regulations1 the ,secretary shall submit to such committees an update on such status4 7#b7 ,final regulations ,not later than #ahj days after the date on which the ,secretary issues any proposed regulations under this subsection1 the ,secretary shall prescribe final regulations4 ,such regulations shall be effective on the date of issuance4 7#c7 ,presumption not warranted 7,a7 ,publication ,if the ,secretary determines under subsection 7a7 that a presumption of service connection is not warranted for an illness1 or proposes to remove a previously established presumption1 the ,secretary shall publish in the ,federal ,register a notice of that determination not later than #ahj days after making the determination4 ,the notice shall include an explanation of the evidence and scientific basis for that determination4 7,b7 ,removal of previous presumption ,if an illness already presumed to be service connected under this section is subject to a notice published under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,secretary shall issue proposed regulations removing the presumption for the illness not later than #ahj days after publication of such notice4 7#d7 ,effect of removal ,whenever the presumption of service connection for an illness under this section is removed under this subsection-- 7,a7 a veteran who was awarded compensation for the illness on the basis of the presumption before the effective date of the removal of the presumption shall continue to be entitled to receive compensation on that basis2 and 7,b7 a survivor of a veteran who was awarded dependency and indemnity compensation for the death of a veteran resulting from the illness on the basis of the presumption before that date shall continue to be entitled to receive dependency and indemnity compensation on that basis4 7c7 ,effective date of benefit awards ,the effective date of any benefit awarded by reason of this section shall be determined in accordance with section #eaaj of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 but shall in no case be earlier than the effective date of the final regulations prescribed pursuant to subsection 7b77#b74 7d7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term covered study includes-- 7,a7 the study conducted by the ,national ,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and ,medicine titled ,respiratory ,health ,effects of ,airborne ,hazards ,exposures in the ,southwest ,asia ,theater of ,military ,operations2 and 7,b7 any subsequent study conducted by the ,national ,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and ,medicine regarding the effects of exposure of humans to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes caused by open air burn pits and other airborne hazards4 7#b7 ,the term covered veteran means a veteran who1 on or after ,september #aa1 #bjja-- 7,a7 was deployed in support of a contingency operation while serving in the ,armed ,forces2 and 7,b7 during such deployment1 was based or stationed at a location where an open burn pit was used4 7#c7 ,the term open burn pit means an area of land that-- 7,a7 is designated by the ,secretary of ,defense to be used for disposing of 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 #c4 ,access of the ,national ,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and ,medicine to information from the ,department of ,defense ,upon request by the ,national ,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and ,medicine 7in this section referred to as the ,academies71 the ,secretary of ,defense shall provide to the ,academies information in the possession of the ,department of ,defense that the ,academies determine useful in performing a covered study1 as that term is defined in section #b7;d74 ,such information includes1 at a minimum1 all environmental sampling data relative to any location included in the study4