,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #chhe  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #c1      
#bjbj,mr4 ,brown 7for himself and ,mr4  
,portman7 introduced the following bill2
 which was read twice and referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
,veterans ,affairs to notify ,congress  
regularly of reported cases of burn pit 
exposure by veterans1 and for other     
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,,sfc ,heath        
,robinson ,burn ,pit ,transparency ,act4
  #b4 ,notifications and reports        
regarding reported cases of burn pit    
exposure  7a7 ,quarterly notifications  
7#a7 ,in general ,on a quarterly basis1 
the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs    
shall submit to the appropriate         
congressional committees a report on    
each case of burn pit exposure by a     
covered veteran reported during the     
previous quarter4  7#b7 ,elements ,each 
report submitted under paragraph 7#a7   

shall include1 with respect to each case
 of burn pit exposure of a covered      
veteran included in the report1 the     
following3 7,a7 ,notice of the case1    
including the medical facility at which 
the case was reported4  7,b7 ,notice of1
 as available-- 7i7 the enrollment      
status of the covered veteran with      
respect to the patient enrollment system
 of the ,department of ,veterans        
,affairs under section #agje7;a7 of     
title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code2  7ii7 
a summary of all health care visits by  
the covered veteran at the medical      
facility at which the case was reported 
that are related to the case2  7iii7 the
 demographics of the covered veteran1   
including age1 sex1 and race2  7iv7 any 
non-,department of ,veterans ,affairs   
health care benefits that the covered   
veteran receives2  7v7 the ,armed ,force
 in which the covered veteran served and
 the rank of the covered veteran2  7vi7 
the period in which the covered veteran 
served2  7vii7 each location of an open 

burn pit from which the covered veteran 
was exposed to toxic airborne chemicals 
and fumes during such service2  7viii7  
the medical diagnoses of the covered    
veteran and the treatment provided to   
the veteran2 and  7ix7 whether the      
covered veteran is registered in the    
,airborne ,hazards and ,open ,burn ,pit 
,registry4  7#c7 ,protection of         
information ,the ,secretary shall ensure
 that the reports submitted under       
paragraph 7#a7 do not include the       
identity of covered veterans or contain 
other personally identifiable data4  7b7
 ,annual report on cases  7#a7 ,in      
general ,not later than #ahj days after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
and annually thereafter1 the ,secretary 
of ,veterans ,affairs1 in collaboration 
with the ,secretary of ,defense1 shall  
submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report detailing the       
following3 7,a7 ,the total number of    
covered veterans4  7,b7 ,the total      
number of claims for disability         

compensation under chapter #aa of title 
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 approved and
 the total number denied by the         
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs with   
respect to a covered veteran1 and for   
each such denial1 the rationale of the  
denial4  7,c7 ,a comprehensive list of--
 7i7 the conditions for which covered   
veterans seek treatment2 and  7ii7 the  
locations of the open burn pits from    
which the covered veterans were exposed 
to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes4  
7,d7 ,identification of any illnesses   
relating to exposure to open burn pits  
that formed the basis for the ,secretary
 to award benefits1 including           
entitlement to service connection or an 
increase in disability rating4  7,e7    
,any updates or trends with respect to  
the information described in            
subparagraphs 7,a71 7,b71 and 7,c7 that 
the ,secretary determines appropriate4  
7#b7 ,matters included in first report  
,the ,secretary shall include in the    
first report under paragraph 7#a7       

information specified in subsection     
7a77#b7 with respect to reported cases  
of burn pit exposure made during the    
period beginning ,january #a1 #aiij1 and
 ending on the day before the date of   
the enactment of this ,act4  7c7        
,information regarding registry ,section
 #bja7;a7 of the ,dignified ,burial and 
,other ,veterans' ,benefits ,improvement
 ,act of #bjab 7,public ,law #aab-bfj2  
#ch ,u4,s4,c4 #ebg note7 is amended by  
adding at the end the following new     
paragraph3  7#c7 ,information  7,a7     
,notice ,the ,secretary of ,veterans    
,affairs shall ensure that a medical    
professional of the ,department of      
,veterans ,affairs informs a veteran of 
the registry under paragraph 7#a7 if the
 veteran presents at a medical facility 
of the ,department for treatment that   
the veteran describes as being related  
to1 or ancillary to1 the exposure of the
 veteran to toxic airborne chemicals and
 fumes caused by open burn pits4  7,b7  
,display ,in making information public  

regarding the number of participants in 
the registry under paragraph 7#a71 the  
,secretary shall display such numbers by
 both ,state and by congressional       
district4  4  7d7 ,comptroller ,general 
report ,not later than #ahj days after  
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united
 ,states shall submit to the appropriate
 congressional committees a report      
containing an assessment of the         
effectiveness of any memorandum of      
understanding or memorandum of agreement
 entered into by the ,secretary of      
,veterans ,affairs with respect to--    
7#a7 the processing of reported cases of
 exposure to open burn pits2 and  7#b7  
the coordination of care and provision  
of health care relating to such cases at
 medical facilities of the ,department  
of ,veterans ,affairs and at            
non-,department facilities4  7e7        
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the
 term ,airborne ,hazards and ,open ,burn
 ,pit ,registry means the registry      

established by the ,secretary of        
,veterans ,affairs 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  7#b7 ,the term   
appropriate congressional committees    
means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on          
,veterans' ,affairs and the ,committee  
on ,armed ,services 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       
covered veteran means a veteran who     
presents at a medical facility of the   
,department of ,veterans ,affairs 7or in
 a non-,department facility pursuant to 
section #agjc or #agjc;,a of title #ch1 
,united ,states ,code7 for treatment    
that the veteran describes as being     
related to1 or ancillary to1 the        
exposure of the veteran to toxic        
airborne chemicals and fumes caused by  
open burn pits at any time while serving

 in the ,armed ,forces4  7#d7 ,the term 
open burn pit has the meaning given that
 term in section #bja7;c7 of the        
,dignified ,burial and ,other ,veterans'
 ,benefits ,improvement ,act of #bjab   
7,public ,law #aab-bfj2 #ch ,u4,s4,c4   
#ebg note74  7#e7 ,the term reported    
case of burn pit exposure means each    
instance in which a veteran presents at 
a medical facility of the ,department of
 ,veterans ,affairs 7or in a            
non-,department facility pursuant to    
section #agjc or #agjc;,a of title #ch1 
,united ,states ,code7 for treatment    
that the veteran describes as being     
related to1 or ancillary to1 the        
exposure of the veteran to toxic        
airborne chemicals and fumes caused by  
open burn pits at any time while serving
 in the ,armed ,forces4