Health Care for Veterans Exposed to Chemical Hazards Act of 2009

Health Care for Veterans Exposed to Chemical Hazards Act of 2009 - Makes any veteran who was exposed in the line of duty to an occupational and environmental health chemical hazard of particular concern to the Secretary of Defense eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for any disability, notwithstanding insufficient medical evidence to conclude that the disability may be associated with such exposure.

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1779 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1779

   To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide health care to 
veterans exposed in the line of duty to occupational and environmental 
            health chemical hazards, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 14, 2009

 Mr. Bayh (for himself, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Byrd, Mr. Specter, 
 Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Wyden) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide health care to 
veterans exposed in the line of duty to occupational and environmental 
            health chemical hazards, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Health Care for Veterans Exposed to 
Chemical Hazards Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. REVISION IN AUTHORITIES FOR PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE FOR 
              CERTAIN VETERANS EXPOSED TO OCCUPATIONAL AND 
              ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CHEMICAL HAZARDS.

    (a) Authorized Inpatient Care.--Section 1710(e) of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following:
    ``(F) A veteran who was exposed in the line of duty to an 
occupational and environmental health chemical hazard of particular 
concern is eligible (subject to paragraph (2)) for hospital care, 
medical services, and nursing home care under subsection (a)(2)(F) for 
any disability, notwithstanding that there is insufficient medical 
evidence to conclude that such disability may be associated with such 
exposure.'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following:
    ``(C) In the case of a veteran described in paragraph (1)(F), 
hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care may not be 
provided under subsection (a)(2)(F) with respect to--
            ``(i) a disability that is found, in accordance with 
        guidelines issued by the Under Secretary for Health, to have 
        resulted from a cause other than an exposure described in 
        paragraph (1)(F); or
            ``(ii) a health effect for which the National Academy of 
        Sciences, in a report, has determined that there is limited or 
        suggestive evidence of the lack of a positive association 
        between occurrence of the health consequences in humans and 
        exposure to an occupational and environmental health chemical 
        hazard of particular concern.''; and
            (3) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(C) The term `occupational and environmental health 
        chemical hazard of particular concern' means an occupational 
        and environmental health chemical hazard that the Secretary of 
        Defense determines is of particular concern after considering 
        appropriate guidelines and standards for exposure, including 
        the following:
                    ``(i) The military exposure guidelines specified in 
                the January 2002 Chemical Exposure Guidelines for 
                Deployed Military Personnel, United States Army Center 
                for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine Technical 
                Guide 230 (or any successor technical guide that 
                establishes military exposure guidelines for the 
                assessment of the significance of field exposures to 
                occupational and environmental health chemical hazards 
                during deployments).
                    ``(ii) Occupational and environmental health 
                chemical exposure standards promulgated by the 
                Occupational Safety and Health Administration.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--Section 1710(e)(4) of such title is 
amended in the matter before subparagraph (A) by striking ``For 
purposes of this subsection--'' and inserting ``In this subsection:''.
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