,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #biej  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #ba1 
#bjai,mr4 ,sullivan 7for himself and    
,mr4 ,manchin7 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 concede       
exposure to airborne hazards and toxins 
from burn pits under certain            
circumstances1 and for other purposes4  
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,veterans ,burn ,pits ,exposure 
,recognition ,act of #bjai4  #b4        
,findings2 sense of ,congress  7a7      
,findings ,congress makes the following 
findings3 7#a7 ,the health of some      
members of the ,armed ,forces and       
veterans who served in certain          
locations1 often multiple times1 may    
have been affected by their service near
 burn pits4  7#b7 ,determining the      
location of burn pits1 and the scope of 
health effects associated to exposure1  

remains the subject of much             
investigation and research by the       
,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 the  
,department of ,defense1 other          
government agencies1 and the ,national  
,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1  
and ,medicine4  7#c7 ,the locations of  
burn pits used by the ,department of    
,defense and partnered armed forces1 and
 the possible health effects associated 
by their use1 may never be completely   
known1 as--  7,a7 some location and air 
and soil quality data is fragmentary2   
and  7,b7 the research involved with    
establishing links between burn pit     
exposure and health conditions by       
necessity is complex1 years in length1  
and in the end1 in some cases1          
inconclusive4  7#d7 ,in the interim1    
though1 some veterans have already been 
adversely affected by their exposure to 
burn pits1 and their claims to certain  
benefits furnished by the ,department of
 ,veterans ,affairs can be reviewed on a
 case-by-case basis4  7#e7 ,when filing 

a claim for certain benefits furnished  
by the ,department of ,veterans         
,affairs1 the application requires that 
each veteran show evidence of their     
exposure to burn pits1 however if the   
evidence of exposure to burn pits is not
 provided1 the claim is often denied4   
7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense
 of ,congress that-- 7#a7 if it is      
determined that a veteran was deployed  
to a covered location during a certain  
period1 the ,secretary of ,veterans     
,affairs should concede that the member 
or veteran was exposed to certain       
toxins1 chemicals1 and hazards2 and     
7#b7 a concession of exposure as        
described in paragraph 7#a7 should not  
alone be sufficient to entitle one to   
health care or disability compensation  
under laws administered by the          
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs4  #c4  
,concession of exposure to airborne     
hazards and toxins from ,department of  
,defense and partnered armed forces burn
 pits  7a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,,ii 

of chapter #aa of title #ch1 ,united    
,states ,code1 is amended by adding at  
the end the following new section3      
#aaai4 ,concession of exposure to       
airborne hazards and toxins from burn   
pits  7a7 ,in general ,for purposes of  
section #aaaj and chapter #ag of this   
title1 any veteran who1 during active   
military1 naval1 or air service1 was    
deployed in support of a contingency    
operation while so serving and as part  
of such deployment served in a covered  
location during a corresponding period  
set forth under subsection 7b71 shall be
 considered to have been exposed to the 
toxins1 chemicals1 and hazards listed in
 subsection 7c74  7b7 ,covered locations
 and corresponding periods  7#a7 ,the   
covered locations and corresponding     
periods set forth under this subsection 
are as follows3 7,a7 ,iraq and the      
following periods3  7i7 ,the period     
beginning on ,august #b1 #aiij1 and     
ending on ,february #bh1 #aiia4  7ii7   
,the period beginning on ,march #ai1    

#bjjc1 and ending on such date as the   
,secretary determines burn pits are no  
longer used in ,iraq4  7,b7 ,the        
,southwest ,asia ,theater of operations1
 other than ,iraq1 and the period       
beginning on ,august #b1 #aiij1 and     
ending on such date as the ,secretary   
determines burn pits are no longer used 
in such location1 including the         
following3  7i7 ,kuwait4  7ii7 ,saudi   
,arabia4  7iii7 ,bahrain4  7iv7 ,oman4  
7v7 ,qatar4  7vi7 ,united ,arab         
,emirates4  7,c7 ,afghanistan and the   
period beginning on ,september #aa1     
#bjja1 and ending on such date as the   
,secretary determines burn pits are no  
longer used in ,afghanistan4  7,d7      
,djibouti and the period beginning on   
,september #aa1 #bjja1 and ending on    
such date as the ,secretary determines  
burn pits are no longer used in         
,djibouti4  7,e7 ,such other locations  
as are set forth by the ,airborne       
,hazards and ,open ,burn ,pit ,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 note7 and corresponding periods set
 forth in such registry4  7,f7 ,such    
other locations and corresponding       
periods as the ,secretary1 in           
collaboration with the ,secretary of    
,defense1 may determine appropriate in a
 report the ,secretary of ,veterans     
,affairs shall submit to ,congress not  
later than two years after the date of  
the enactment of the ,veterans ,burn    
,pits ,exposure ,recognition ,act of    
#bjai and not less frequently than once 
every two years thereafter4  7#b7 ,a    
location set forth under this subsection
 shall not include any body of water    
around or any airspace above such       
location4  7c7 ,toxins1 chemicals1      
airborne hazards  7#a7 ,subject to      
paragraph 7#b71 the toxins1 chemicals1  
and airborne hazards listed in this     
subsection are as follows3  7,a7        
,particulate matter1 including the      

following3 7i7 ,,pm-#aj4  7ii7          
,,pm-#b4e4  7,b7 ,polycyclic aromatic   
hydrocarbons 7,p,a,hs71 including the   
following3  7i7 ,acenaphthene4  7ii7    
,acenaphthylene4  7iii7 ,anthracene4    
7iv7 ,benzo7a7anthracene4  7v7          
,benzo7a7pyrene4  7vi7                  
,benzo7b7fluoroanthene4  7vii7          
,benzo7g1h1i7perylene4  7viii7          
,benzo7k7fluoroanthene4  7ix7 ,chrysene4
  7x7 ,dibenz7a1h7anthracene4  7xi7     
,fluoranthene4  7xii7 ,fluorene4  7xiii7
 ,indeno7#a1b1c-;cd7pyrene4  7xiv7      
,naphthalene4  7xv7 ,phenanthrene4      
7xvi7 ,pyrene4  7,c7 ,volatile organic  
compounds 7,v,o,cs71 including the      
following3 7i7 ,acetone4  7ii7          
,acrolein4  7iii7 ,benzene4  7iv7       
,carbon ,disulfide4  7v7                
,chlorodifluoromethane4  7vi7           
,chloromethane4  7vii7 ,ethylbenzene4   
7viii7 ,hexane4  7ix7                   
,hexachlorobutadiene4  7x7 m_/p-,xylene4
  7xi7 ,methylene ,chloride4  7xii7     
,pentane4  7xiii7 ,propylene4  7xiv7    

,styrene4  7xv7 ,toluene4  7,d7 ,toxic  
organic halogenated dioxins and furans  
7dioxins71 including the following3 7i7 
#a1b1c1d1f1g1h ,,hpcdd4  7ii7           
#a1b1c1d1f1g1h ,,hpcdf4  7iii7          
#a1b1c1d1g1h1i ,,hpcdf4  7iv7           
#a1b1c1d1g1h ,,hxcdd4  7v7 #a1b1c1d1g1h 
,,hxcdf4  7vi7 #a1b1c1f1g1h ,,hxcdd4    
7vii7 #a1b1c1f1g1h ,,hxcdf4  7viii7     
#a1b1c1g1h1i ,,hxcdd4  7ix7 #a1b1c1g1h1i
 ,,hxcdf4  7x7 #a1b1c1g1h ,,pecdd4  7xi7
 #a1b1c1g1h ,,pecdf4  7xii7 #b1c1d1f1g1h
 ,,hxcdf4  7xiii7 #b1c1d1g1h ,,pecdf4   
7xiv7 #b1c1g1h ,,tcdd4  7xv7 #b1c1g1h   
,,tcdf4  7xvi7 octachlorodibenzodioxin4 
7xvii7 octachlorodibenzofuran4  7,e7    
,such other toxins1 chemicals1 and      
airborne hazards as the ,secretary1 in  
collaboration with the ,secretary of    
,defense1 may add under paragraph 7#b74 
7#b7 ,the ,secretary may add to or      
remove from the list under paragraph    
7#a7 as the ,secretary determines       
appropriate in a report the ,secretary  
shall submit to ,congress not later than

 two years after the date of the        
enactment of the ,veterans ,burn ,pits  
,exposure ,recognition ,act of #bjai1   
and not less frequently than once every 
two years thereafter4  7d7 ,medical     
examinations and medical opinions  7#a7 
,if a veteran described in subsection   
7a7 submits to the ,secretary a claim   
for compensation for a service-connected
 disability with evidence of a          
disability and service in a covered     
location and corresponding period set   
forth under subsection 7b7 and such     
evidence is not sufficient to establish 
a service connection for the disability1
 the ,secretary shall provide the       
veteran with a medical examination and  
the ,secretary shall request a medical  
opinion as to any causal link between   
the disability and a toxin1 chemical1 or
 hazard set listed in subsection 7c74   
7#b7 ,when providing the ,secretary with
 a medical opinion requested under      
paragraph 7#a71 the provider shall      
consider the total potential exposure   

through all applicable military         
deployments1 and the synergistic effect 
of all combined toxins through          
inhalation1 dermal exposure1 and        
ingestion4  7e7 ,definition of burn pit 
,in this section1 the term burn pit     
means an area of land that is used for  
disposal of solid waste by burning in   
the outdoor air4  4  7b7 ,clerical      
amendment ,the table of sections at the 
beginning of chapter #aa of such title  
is amended by inserting after the item  
relating to section #aaah the following 
new item3  #aaai4 ,concession of        
exposure to airborne hazards and toxins 
from burn pits4  4