[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1563 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1563
To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to the Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's review and publication of
illness and conditions relating to veterans stationed at Camp Lejeune,
North Carolina, and their family members, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 21, 2019
Mr. Burr (for himself, Mr. Tester, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Rubio, and Mr.
Cardin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to the Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's review and publication of
illness and conditions relating to veterans stationed at Camp Lejeune,
North Carolina, and their family members, 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 ``Janey Ensminger Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. REVIEW OF ILLNESSES AND CONDITIONS RELATING TO VETERANS
STATIONED AT CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, AND THEIR
FAMILY MEMBERS.
(a) Review and Publication of Illness or Condition.--Part P of
title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 399V-7. REVIEW AND PUBLICATION OF ILLNESSES AND CONDITIONS.
``Consistent with section 104(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, not later than 1
year after the date of enactment of this section, and not less
frequently than once every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary, acting
through the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry, shall--
``(1)(A) review the scientific literature relevant to the
relationship between the employment or residence of individuals
at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, for not fewer than 30 days
during the period beginning on August 1, 1953, and ending on
December 21, 1987, and specific illnesses or conditions
incurred by those individuals;
``(B) determine each illness or condition for which there
is evidence that exposure to a toxic substance at Camp Lejeune,
North Carolina, during the period specific in subparagraph (A)
may be a cause of the illness or condition; and
``(C) with respect to each illness or condition for which a
determination has been made under subparagraph (B), categorize
the evidence of the connection of the illness or condition to
exposure described in that subparagraph as--
``(i) sufficient to conclude with reasonable
confidence that the exposure is a cause of the illness
or condition;
``(ii) modest supporting causation, but not
sufficient to conclude with reasonable confidence that
exposure is a cause of the illness or condition; or
``(iii) no more than limited supporting causation;
``(2) publish in the Federal Register and on the internet
website of the Department of Health and Human Services--
``(A) a list of each illness or condition for which
a determination has been made under paragraph (1)(B),
including the categorization of the evidence of causal
connection relating to the illness or condition under
paragraph (1)(C); and
``(B) the bibliographic citations for all
literature reviewed under paragraph (1) for each
illness or condition listed under such paragraph; and
``(3) update the list under paragraph (2), as applicable,
to add an illness or condition for which a determination has
been made under paragraph (1)(B), including the categorization
of the evidence of causal connection relating to the illness or
condition under paragraph (1)(C), since such list was last
updated consistent with the requirements of this section.''.
(b) Eligibility for Health Care From Department of Veterans
Affairs.--
(1) In general.--Section 1710(e)(1)(F) of title 38, United
States Code, is amended--
(A) by redesignating clauses (i) through (xv) as
subclauses (I) through (XV), respectively;
(B) by striking ``(F) Subject to'' and inserting
``(F)(i) Subject to'';
(C) by striking ``any of the following'' and
inserting ``any of the illnesses or conditions for
which the evidence of connection of the illness or
condition to exposure to a toxic substance at Camp
Lejeune, North Carolina, during such period is
categorized as sufficient or modest in the most recent
list published under section 399V-7(a)(2) of the Public
Health Service Act, which may include any of the
following''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following new clause:
``(ii) For the purposes of ensuring continuation of care, any
veteran who has been furnished hospital care or medical services under
this subparagraph for an illness or condition shall remain eligible for
hospital care or medical services for such illness or condition
notwithstanding that the evidence of connection of such illness or
condition to exposure to a toxic substance at Camp Lejeune, North
Carolina, during the period described in clause (i) is not categorized
as sufficient or modest in the most recent list published under section
399V-7(a)(2) of the Public Health Service Act.''.
(2) Family members.--Section 1787 of such title is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(c) Continuation of Care.--For the purposes of ensuring
continuation of care, any individual who has been furnished hospital
care or medical services under this section for an illness or condition
shall remain eligible for hospital care or medical services for such
illness or condition notwithstanding that the illness or condition is
no longer described in section 1710(e)(1)(F) of this title.''.
(3) Transfer of amounts for program.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, for each of fiscal years 2019 and 2020,
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall transfer $2,000,000
from amounts made available to the Department of Veterans
Affairs for medical support and compliance to the Chief
Business Office and Financial Services Center of the Department
to be used to continue building and enhancing the claims
processing system, eligibility system, and web portal for the
Camp Lejeune Family Member Program of the Department.
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