Veterans' Hepatitis C Benefits Act of 1999

Veterans' Hepatitis C Benefits Act of 1999 - Considers hepatitis C becoming manifest in a veteran to be service-connected, and therefore compensable under veterans' disability provisions, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such illness during the period of such service, as long as it is shown that during such service the veteran experienced: (1) a blood transfusion before December 31, 1992; (2) blood exposure on or through skin or mucous membrane; (3) hemodialysis; (4) a tattoo, body piercing, or acupuncture; (5) unexplained liver disease or abnormal liver function tests; or (6) working in a health care occupation.

[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1020 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1020

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a presumption of 
    service connection for the occurrence of hepatitis C in certain 
                               veterans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 4, 1999

Mr. Snyder (for himself, Mr. Evans, Mr. Filner, Ms. Carson, Mr. Minge, 
Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Shows, Mr. Dickey, Mr. Smith 
 of New Jersey, Mrs. McCarthy of New York, and Mr. Weldon of Florida) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a presumption of 
    service connection for the occurrence of hepatitis C in certain 
                               veterans.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Hepatitis C Benefits Act 
of 1999''.

SEC. 2. PRESUMPTION OF SERVICE CONNECTION FOR HEPATITIS C FOR VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 11 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1119. Presumption of service connection for hepatitis C
    ``For purposes of section 1110 of this title, and subject to 
section 1113 of this title, hepatitis C becoming manifest in a veteran 
shall be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated by active 
military, naval, or air service, notwithstanding that there is no 
record of evidence of such illness during the period of such service if 
it is shown that during such service the veteran experienced one or 
more of the following:
            ``(1) Transfusion of blood or blood products before 
        December 31, 1992.
            ``(2) Blood exposure on or through skin or mucous membrane.
            ``(3) Hemodialysis.
            ``(4) Tattoo or body piercing or acupuncture.
            ``(5) Unexplained liver disease.
            ``(6) Unexplained abnormal liver function tests.
            ``(7) Working in a health care occupation.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
1118 the following new item:

``1119. Presumption of service connection for hepatitis C.''.
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