S.Amdt. 2419

SA 2419. Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. Tester, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Merkley, Ms. Warren, and Ms. Collins) submitted an amendment intended
to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 5515, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in title X, insert the following:

SEC. ___. PRESUMPTION OF HERBICIDE EXPOSURE FOR CERTAIN
VETERANS WHO SERVED IN KOREA.

(a) In General.--Chapter 11 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by inserting after section 1116 the
following new section:

``Sec. 1116A. Presumption of herbicide exposure for certain
veterans who served in Korea

``(a) Presumption of Service-connection.--(1) For the
purposes of section 1110 of this title, and subject to
section 1113 of this title, a disease specified in subsection
(b) that becomes manifest as specified in that subsection in
a veteran described in paragraph (2) shall be considered to
have been incurred or aggravated in the line of duty in the
active military, naval, or air service, notwithstanding that
there is no record of evidence of such disease during the
period of such service.
``(2) A veteran described in this paragraph is a veteran
who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in
or near the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ), during the
period beginning on September 1, 1967, and ending on August
31, 1971.
``(b) Diseases.--A disease specified in this subsection
is--
``(1) a disease specified in paragraph (2) of subsection
(a) of section 1116 of this title that becomes manifest as
specified in that paragraph; or
``(2) any additional disease that--
``(A) the Secretary determines in regulations warrants a
presumption of service-connection by reason of having
positive association with exposure to an herbicide agent; and
``(B) becomes manifest within any period prescribed in such
regulations.
``(c) Herbicide Agent.--For purposes of this section, the
term `herbicide agent' has the meaning given such term in
section 1821(d) of this title.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the
item relating to section 1116 the following new item:

``1116A. Presumption of herbicide exposure for certain veterans who
served in Korea.''.
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