Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2433, the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act. This bill is cosponsored by Congressmen Raul Ruiz from California and Brad Wenstrup from Ohio. Dr. Ruiz and Dr. Wenstrup are co-chairs of the House Burn Pit Caucus. I thank them for their work on this bill and continued advocacy on behalf of the veterans exposed to burn pits.

Many servicemembers and veterans are grappling with serious health conditions that they believe are the result of the burn pit exposures. That is why Congress required VA to create an Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry in 2013.

The registry was intended to provide a forum for servicemembers and veterans to document their burn pit exposures and health status so that the VA could better target research and outreach. The registry continues to be an important tool for veterans worried about burn pit and other toxic or environmental exposures.

Last Congress, two important stakeholders, Burn Pits 360 and VFW, recommended family members be allowed to update the registry in the event of the death of a servicemember or veteran listed on it. This would ensure that the registry contains a more complete picture of the possible effects of burn pit exposure. This bill would do that.

When a servicemember or a veteran listed in the registry passes away, it would allow an immediate family member to report their death and cause of death to the registry.

As ranking member, improving the care and benefits provided to veterans who have experienced toxic exposure continues to be one of my top priorities. There have been bipartisan bills introduced in the House and Senate this Congress. One of those bills is my bill, the TEAM Act.

And last week, VA announced some new initiatives aimed at improving the presumptive process for toxic-exposed veterans. I still have many outstanding questions about that announcement, and am concerned by the stalled legislative efforts of the Democrat-controlled Congress.

Toxic-exposed veterans are sick and dying. We cannot let burn pits, PFAS, or particulate matters become this generation's Agent Orange. We cannot fail to take proactive action on behalf of the future generations of warfighters.

I hope that we can soon come together in the House and the Senate in a bipartisan manner to take meaningful, fiscally responsible, and scientifically sound action to address toxic exposures. In the meantime, I am pleased to support this bill today, and hope it has the support of all of my colleagues.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2433) to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to take actions necessary to ensure that certain individuals may update the burn pit registry with a registered individual's cause of death, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2433.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the passage of Representative Ruiz's Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act.

As the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and our Senate counterparts close in on providing much-needed, comprehensive assistance to veterans exposed to burn pits and other airborne hazards, this measure from Dr. Ruiz is an important step in the right direction.

As VA continues to study the effects that burn pit and other airborne hazard

exposures have on our veterans, the collection of data is critical. Without data, important patterns are not identified, and decisive conclusions cannot be made.

This bill ensures that VA researchers and their partners will have more information to evaluate as they strive toward final determinations on issues and additional presumptive service-connected conditions.

VA's burn pit registry is for veterans and servicemembers who may have been exposed to airborne hazards caused by open burn pits while deployed in support of Operations Desert Storm, Desert Shield, New Dawn, Iraqi Freedom, or Enduring Freedom. Through this registry, veterans may report on their symptoms or illnesses, providing researchers with invaluable information used to determine potential links between veterans' exposures and their current health conditions.

The Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act will strengthen this registry by authorizing a designee of a registered veteran or an immediate family member to update the registry with the veteran's cause of death.

While this additional information can no longer assist those who sadly pass away as a potential consequence of burn pit exposure, their cause of death data may someday assist their fellow veterans. This will be an honorable and incredibly valuable last act of service.

So, Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the passage of the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act, H.R. 2433, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 2433, and I yield back the balance of my time.