Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 586 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 586

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to study and report on the 
prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma in veterans who served in the Vietnam 
 theater of operations during the Vietnam era, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 21, 2025

Mr. LaLota (for himself, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Davis of North 
 Carolina, Mr. Gottheimer, and Mr. Ciscomani) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to study and report on the 
prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma in veterans who served in the Vietnam 
 theater of operations during the Vietnam era, 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 ``Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer 
Study Act''.

SEC. 2. STUDY ON THE PREVALENCE OF CHOLANGIOCARCINOMA IN VETERANS WHO 
              SERVED IN THE VIETNAM THEATER OF OPERATIONS DURING THE 
              VIETNAM ERA.

    (a) Epidemiological Study.--Not later than 120 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 
consultation with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention of the Department of Health and Human Services, shall 
commence an epidemiological study on the prevalence of 
cholangiocarcinoma in covered veterans of the Vietnam era, using data 
from the Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry and the National 
Program of Cancer Registries. The study shall include--
            (1) an identification of the rate of incidence of 
        cholangiocarcinoma in covered veterans of the Vietnam era and 
        in residents of the United States, from the beginning of the 
        Vietnam era to the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) for each of the groups specified in paragraph (1), an 
        identification of the percentage of individuals with 
        cholangiocarcinoma by various demographic characteristics, 
        including by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and the geographic 
        location of the patient at the time of diagnosis.
    (b) Reports to Congress.--
            (1) Initial report.--Not later than one year after the 
        completion of the study under subsection (a), the Secretary 
        shall submit to Congress a report containing--
                    (A) the results of the study under subsection (a); 
                and
                    (B) recommendations for administrative or 
                legislative actions required to address issues 
                identified in the study under subsection (a).
            (2) Follow-up reports.--The Secretary shall periodically 
        submit to the Congress a follow-up reports, as determined by 
        the Secretary, to provide updates to the information included 
        in the initial report under paragraph (1) and information 
        collected pursuant to subsection (c).
    (c) Continued Tracking of Cholangiocarcinoma in Covered Veterans of 
the Vietnam Era.--The Secretary shall track the prevalence of 
cholangiocarcinoma in covered veterans of the Vietnam era using the 
Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry, and provide such information 
to Congress in follow-up reports submitted under subsection (b)(2).
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``Vietnam era'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
            (2) The term ``covered veterans of the Vietnam era'' means 
        veterans who served in the Vietnam theater of operations during 
        the Vietnam era.
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