S.Amdt. 3758

SA 3758. Ms. KLOBUCHAR submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 3695 proposed by Mr. Shelby to the bill H.R. 6157,
making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes; which was ordered to
lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in division A, insert the
following:

SEC. ____. EXPOSURE TO OPEN BURN PITS AND TOXIC AIRBORNE
CHEMICALS AS PART OF PERIODIC HEALTH
ASSESSMENTS AND OTHER PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS.

(a) Periodic Health Assessment.--The Secretary of Defense
shall ensure that any periodic health assessment provided to
members of the Armed Forces includes an evaluation of whether
the member has been--
(1) based or stationed at a location where an open burn pit
was used; or
(2) exposed to toxic airborne chemicals, including any
information recorded as part of the Airborne Hazards and Open
Burn Pit Registry.
(b) Separation History and Physical Examinations.--Section
1145(a)(5) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(C) The Secretary concerned shall ensure that each
physical examination of a member under subparagraph (A)
includes an assessment of whether the member was--
``(i) based or stationed at a location where an open burn
pit, as defined in subsection (c) of section 201 of the
Dignified Burial and Other Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act
of 2012 (Public Law 112-260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note), was used;
or
``(ii) exposed to toxic airborne chemicals, including any
information recorded as part of the registry established by
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under such section 201.''.
(c) Deployment Assessments.--Section 1074f(b)(2) of title
10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new subparagraph:
``(D) An assessment of whether the member was--
``(i) based or stationed at a location where an open burn
pit, as defined in subsection (c) of section 201 of the
Dignified Burial and Other Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act
of 2012 (Public Law 112-260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note), was used;
or
``(ii) exposed to toxic airborne chemicals, including any
information recorded as part

[[Page S5726]]

of the registry established by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs under such section 201.''.
(d) Sharing of Information.--
(1) DOD-VA.--The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall jointly enter into a memorandum of
understanding providing for the sharing by the Department of
Defense with the Department of Veterans Affairs of the
results of covered evaluations regarding the exposure by a
member of the Armed Forces to toxic airborne chemicals.
(2) Registry.--If a covered evaluation of a member of the
Armed Forces establishes that the member was based or
stationed at a location where an open burn pit was used, or
the member was exposed to toxic airborne chemicals, the
member shall be enrolled in the Airborne Hazards and Open
Burn Pit Registry, unless the member elects to not so enroll.
(e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to preclude eligibility for benefits under the laws
administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs by reason
of the open burn pit exposure history of a veteran not being
recorded in a covered evaluation.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit
Registry'' means the registry established by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs under section 201 of the Dignified Burial
and Other Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public
Law 112-260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note).
(2) The term ``covered evaluation'' means--
(A) a periodic health assessment conducted in accordance
with subsection (a);
(B) a separation history and physical examination conducted
under section 1145(a)(5) of title 10, United States Code, as
amended by this section; and
(C) a deployment assessment conducted under section
1074f(b)(2) of such title, as amended by this section.
(3) The term ``open burn pit'' has the meaning given that
term in section 201(c) of the Dignified Burial and Other
Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-
260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note).
______