March 5, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 39 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages H2332-H2335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   BURN PIT REGISTRY ENHANCEMENT ACT


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. 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. 1381.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1381) 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.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1381

       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 ``Burn Pit Registry 
     Enhancement Act''.

     SEC. 2. BURN PIT REGISTRY UPDATES.

       (a) Individuals Eligible To Update.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
     shall take actions necessary to ensure that the burn pit 
     registry may be updated with the cause of death of a deceased 
     registered individual by--
       (A) an individual designated by such deceased registered 
     individual; or
       (B) if no such individual is designated, an immediate 
     family member of such deceased registered individual.
       (2) Designation.--The Secretary shall provide, with respect 
     to the burn pit registry, a process by which a registered 
     individual may make a designation for purposes of paragraph 
     (1)(A).
       (b) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) The term ``burn pit registry'' means the registry 
     established under section 201 of the Dignified Burial and 
     Other Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2012 (Public Law 
     112-260; 38 U.S.C. 527 note).
       (2) The term ``immediate family member'', with respect to a 
     deceased individual, means--
       (A) the spouse, parent, brother, sister, or adult child of 
     the individual;
       (B) an adult person to whom the individual stands in loco 
     parentis; or
       (C) any other adult person--
       (i) living in the household of the individual at the time 
     of the death of the individual; and
       (ii) related to the individual by blood or marriage.
       (3) The term ``registered individual'' means an individual 
     registered with the burn pit registry.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. David P. 
Roe) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I, too, in celebration of today say ``laissez les bons 
temps rouler.''
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1381.
  During Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and in other 
parts of the world where American servicemembers were deployed, the 
Department of Defense exposed brave Americans to toxic fumes and 
dangerous chemicals by burning waste in open-air burn pits. Some of the 
waste burned in these open-air pits were human waste, Styrofoam, 
lithium batteries, tires, medical waste, and other toxic substances. 
Servicemembers had no way to avoid inhaling the smoke from these burn 
pits that were located on their bases, sometimes right next to their 
barracks.
  When this committee held a hearing last year on burn pits, we heard 
from Leroy Torres, the founder of Burn Pits 360, who breathed in burn 
pit smoke while stationed in Balad Air Base in Iraq in 2007. When he 
returned home in 2008, he needed immediate hospitalization for lung 
disease.
  Mr. Torres and other veterans suffering from medical conditions 
believed to be caused by exposure to burn pits are still fighting to 
receive healthcare and benefits because illnesses potentially caused by 
burn pit exposure still aren't recognized by the VA.
  Research to understand the harmful effects these toxic substances may 
have had on military servicemembers is now underway. However, the 
totality of harmful health effects this dangerous practice may have had 
on servicemembers is yet to be fully known and understood, and it may 
take years for clinicians and scientists to understand the health 
effects or discover effective treatments for those who were exposed.
  In an effort to better track the health effects these exposures had 
on deployed troops, Congress required the VA to create the open burn 
pit registry in 2012 to compile self-reported data on veterans who 
believed they were exposed to open-air burn pits while serving in Iraq 
and Afghanistan.
  This registry allows VA to easily communicate with this population of 
veterans, as well as track trends within the population that may 
indicate a need for further research into certain health concerns. 
However, the registry failed to provide, in it, the ability to report 
cause of death for veterans who are registered and then subsequently 
pass away.
  Congressman Ruiz's bill, the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act, would 
allow an individual designated by the veteran during the registry 
process or an immediate family member to update the veteran's file on 
the registry with a cause of death.
  These additional data will allow researchers and the VA to identify 
trends, similarities, and correlations in this population that will 
better inform our research efforts on the impact these open-air burn 
pits have on the servicemembers who served in combat zones.
  With the addition of more data to the burn pits registry, we hope 
this will help VA conduct groundbreaking research that will lead to 
prevention and treatments for toxic exposures, including exposure to 
toxic substances inescapably connected to military service.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1381, the Burn Pit 
Registry Enhancement Act.
  This bill is sponsored by Dr. Raul Ruiz of California and Dr. Brad 
Wenstrup of Ohio. Dr. Ruiz and Dr. Wenstrup are medical professionals, 
former members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and co-chairs of 
the

[[Page H2333]]

House Burn Pits Caucus. I am grateful to them both for their efforts 
with respect to this legislation and for their continued dedication to 
serving our Nation's veterans on a bipartisan basis.
  In response to growing fears about the long-term health effects of 
burn pit exposure, Congress required the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, VA, to create the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, 
the registry, in 2013.
  The registry was intended to provide a forum for servicemembers and 
veterans to document the toxic exposures they experienced in service to 
our country and report health issues they believe may be connected to 
those exposures to VA to assist in research regarding toxic exposure 
impacts and treatments.
  While the registry continues to be an important tool for those 
worried about burn pits and other toxic environmental exposures, 
advocates have expressed concern over the years that the registry is 
not being used to its greatest potential.
  During a hearing before the Subcommittee on Health last June, two 
important stakeholder groups, Burn Pit 360 and the Veterans of Foreign 
Wars of the United States, or VFW, recommended that the registry be 
improved by allowing family members to update the registry in the event 
of a death of a servicemember or veteran listed on it.
  Accordingly, the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act would, on the 
death of a servicemember or a veteran listed in the registry, allow an 
immediate family member or other designated individual to report that 
servicemember's or veteran's death to the registry and list his or her 
cause of death in the registry.
  According to Burn Pits 360, without tracking the mortality rate 
through methods such as allowing a surviving family member to report 
deaths and the cause of death, the registry's ability to establish 
mortality rates related to conditions and diseases associated with 
toxic exposure will be precluded.
  Mr. Speaker, I agree, which is why I am pleased to support this bill 
today. That said, I do regret that it did not move through regular 
order. Had it been subject to a committee hearing and markup, it surely 
would have benefited from a robust debate and discussion by committee 
members, by VA, and by veteran service organizations and other 
interested parties and perhaps made even stronger. I look forward to 
continued committee work on this important subject.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting 
this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments from my colleague, 
the ranking member, about regular order. I can assure you we will 
discuss this subject further, and I appreciate and take to heart his 
comments.
  At this time, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Ruiz), my good friend and the author of this bill.
  Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Takano and his staff for all 
their work on this. They have done a great job. I thank them for 
fighting for this bill and for their tireless work in support of our 
veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I also thank the ranking member, Dr. Phil Roe, for his 
support of veterans who have been exposed to burn pits, and a special 
shout-out to my good friend Congressman Dr. Brad Wenstrup, who is the 
colead on this bill. We have worked together on this and numerous 
bills, and we are also leading the efforts in the bipartisan Burn Pits 
Caucus to really give answers to our veterans who have been exposed.
  My bill, the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act, will help our 
government better understand the health effects of toxic burn pits on 
our men and women in uniform.
  As a nation, we have a responsibility to provide our veterans with 
the benefits that they have earned and deserve and to keep them safe to 
the best of our ability when they are in the field.
  We bear that responsibility even more heavily when the actions of our 
own government--in this case, its use of toxic burn pits--are causing 
veterans to develop severe pulmonary illnesses, cancers, autoimmune 
diseases, and chronic conditions that are making young, otherwise very 
healthy veterans, extremely ill, permanently oxygen-dependent, and 
totally disabled--and, in some cases, leading to their death.
  This is what happened to Jennifer Kepner, a constituent of mine, a 
mother of two young children, and a veteran of the United States Air 
Force. Despite being only 39 years of age, living an active lifestyle, 
very healthy, not having any other risk factors, Jennifer developed a 
very aggressive pancreatic cancer that ultimately took her life.

                              {time}  1645

  Jennifer's oncologist conducted an extensive genetic and 
environmental risk assessment and found that the only probable and most 
probable cause of her cancer was her exposure to burn pits. These are 
acres, sometimes 10 acres big, of open burn pits where they burn 
everything and anything, like that garbage open burn pit with jet fuel, 
that exposes our servicemembers to hundreds of toxic chemicals and 
carcinogens, with huge clouds of black smoke that traverse long 
distances.
  So while Jennifer was fighting bravely against her cancer, she also 
had to fight tooth and nail to get the healthcare and benefits that she 
had earned. Even then, the VA did not recognize her cancer's connection 
to burn pit exposures.
  I was there in her final days, and she wanted us to do something. She 
called it our generation's Agent Orange. She wanted us to do something 
to prevent this and to help other veterans.
  There is a principle I use as a doctor and a public health expert, 
and that is, when there is a high enough suspicion of an agent that can 
cause a severe enough health consequence, then we have to act on that 
suspicion. In this case, we do have enough suspicion, given the 
information that is out there, that burn pits are essentially toxic and 
causing health problems and even death, so it is definitely severe 
enough.
  We need to do something. There are four prongs that we need to 
pursue, four pillars of a framework.
  One is stop the use of burn pits.
  Two is outreach to veterans and providers to educate them about their 
risks.
  Three is to make sure that we take care of our veterans by providing 
healthcare and some of the benefits that they have earned.
  Also, do more research so that we can fully understand the full 
health effects of being exposed to these burn pits.
  This bill and the burn pit registry will help with two of those 
prongs. One is that it is a vehicle for the VA, DOD, and our government 
to communicate with veterans who have been exposed to burn pits, and 
their family members, about any recent health topics, research, or 
policy change that they may be interested in.
  It also helps them grab samples of veterans for future research so 
that we can better understand with more robust scientific research the 
full effects of burn pits in their lives, which could lead to a better 
understanding, better healthcare, better outreach, and more benefits 
for our permanently disabled veterans.
  It is very important that veterans who have been exposed to burn pits 
register in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry and build 
this communication vehicle with the VA, our government, and those of us 
who are strong advocates for our veterans.
  My bill will allow an entry with the cause of death in the Airborne 
Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry after a veteran passes away. For 
example, right now, if a veteran passes away, there is no way to update 
this burn pit registry with their cause of death. This allows a spouse 
or a designee to enter that cause of death.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentleman from California.
  Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, those causes of death could be brain cancer, 
esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, autoimmune diseases, lymphomas, 
leukemias, constricted bronchiolitis, COPD, and others.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge each Member of this Chamber to support this 
bipartisan bill, which will help our Nation uphold its commitment to 
serving our veterans. Together, we are taking a crucial first step 
toward honoring Jennifer Kepner and improving and saving

[[Page H2334]]

the lives of countless veterans. I thank the chairman for his support.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost), a very active member and Marine 
Corps veteran on the committee.
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1381, the Burn Pit 
Registry Enhancement Act. As the ranking member said, I am a marine. As 
member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, caring for those veterans 
who have served our Nation, and protecting them, is a top priority for 
me. They should have the peace of mind in knowing that they will be 
cared for by a grateful Nation after having that time that they served.
  I have had veterans come into my office with health problems, health 
problems that they shouldn't be having. They are young, and they don't 
have a family history. Sometimes, they just can't pinpoint the cause.
  All too often, it can be from the use of burn pits in Iraq and 
Afghanistan. It is equally frustrating that the VA doesn't have enough 
data to fully understand the effects of burn pits.
  We have seen this movie before. We saw it with people who were 
exposed to Agent Orange, people who were serving offshore, and the 
problems we have dealing with blue water Navy Vietnam veterans. They, 
too, faced the consequences of unknown exposure risks.
  We must do better. This bill seeks to do that. This is a step 
forward. It is not a fix all, but at least we are trying to move in the 
direction that we need to move and not be trapped in the same situation 
we were with Agent Orange. Today's legislation is a bipartisan effort, 
and it puts our veterans first.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Cunningham), my good friend and a member of the 
House Veterans' Affairs Committee.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of H.R. 1381, 
the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Representative Raul Ruiz and 
Representative Brad Wenstrup, for all their hard work on this bill and 
for their leadership as co-chairs of the Bipartisan Congressional Burn 
Pits Caucus.

  As the Members of this body are aware, one of the many perils our men 
and women in uniform face overseas is the threat of toxic exposure from 
burn pits. To dispose of their waste, servicemembers in Iraq and 
Afghanistan tossed every variety of waste into massive pits to be set 
on fire, not knowing the harmful chemicals they were likely breathing 
in as a result.
  Even today, we still do not fully understand all the risks associated 
with exposure to burn pits. That is why Congress established a 
voluntary registry for veterans who served in the vicinity of burn pits 
to document their experience and to learn more about ongoing studies.
  The data from this registry further enables doctors and the VA to 
better study the health impacts of burn pit exposure and to develop 
lifesaving treatments.
  H.R. 1381 would strengthen this registry by allowing the families of 
deceased veterans to update the registry with the veterans' causes of 
death. This added data will give medical researchers a more complete 
picture of the effects of toxic burn pit exposures and bring us closer 
to giving veterans the answers and the treatment that they deserve.
  As a member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I am pleased 
to support H.R. 1381, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to pass this commonsense and pragmatic bipartisan bill.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup), a Congressman, colonel, doctor, 
former member of the committee, and incredible veterans advocate.
  Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, I thank the former chairman for yielding 
to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bipartisan legislation that I 
sponsored with Dr. Ruiz, the Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act. I am 
pleased to have Dr. Ruiz' medical expertise engaged on this issue.
  Our Nation's servicemembers experience a variety of threats to their 
health and well-being, many of which extend well beyond combat. The 
theater of war can present many health challenges that do not show up 
until later in life. We are learning that burn pit exposure can be one 
such condition.
  I occasionally smelled that type of smoke that can arise from burn 
pits when I served in Iraq. I support increased research into the range 
of health impacts that can arise from burn pit exposure. In order to 
effectively help our Nation's veterans, we need an accurate registry of 
servicemembers and veterans who were exposed to burn pits, as well as 
detailed records of health impacts from that exposure.
  Currently, the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry monitors 
the health records of veterans exposed to burn pits. This registry 
helps the VA identify health conditions possibly related to burn pit 
exposure or other airborne hazards that can arise during military 
service.
  It also keeps exposed veterans informed about studies and treatments, 
and it helps improve programs to help veterans who are concerned that 
they may have been exposed to toxic chemicals while they were deployed.
  The Burn Pit Registry Enhancement Act will allow a veteran's family 
member or other selected individual to update the burn pits registry 
with the veteran's cause of death. This will improve the reported data 
available for studies related to burn pits and help researchers examine 
the full range of diseases, health conditions, and outcomes that may 
result from exposure to burn pits.
  Dr. Ruiz did an excellent job when he spoke to many of those types of 
things that we need to be concerned about.
  We still have a lot to understand about the impacts of burn pit 
exposure, no doubt about it. This is one small, but important, step 
toward that full understanding.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that we have three 
doctors who are either now or were associated with the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee and that they have supported this legislation.
  I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close, so I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank Dr. Ruiz, who was a very active 
member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. I really hated to see him 
leave our committee. He was a tremendous asset to the committee and, as 
you can see, continues to be that asset.
  I think one of the things, Mr. Speaker, that this registry does is it 
also shows us on the committee how important it is to get our 
electronic health records done, so that an Active Duty military recruit 
can go in at 18 years of age and have a virtual lifetime record so that 
we will have a treasure trove of data there 30 or 40 years later, as we 
are doing right now in trying to figure out what to do with Agent 
Orange.
  If we do this correctly, we will be able to not make these mistakes 
in the future. We will be able to go ahead and rapidly make these 
claims, adjudicate these claims, so that veterans are treated properly 
and get the medical care they need.
  I strongly support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote 
``yes'' on this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I fully associate myself with the remarks of the 
minority member of the committee. Again, I want to express my gratitude 
to the professionally trained physicians who have weighed in on this 
legislation and further commented about the importance of the 
electronic health records and the important oversight that was begun in 
the last Congress, which will continue in this Congress under my 
leadership.
  I agree it is really important that we get those records to work 
properly and that the communication between the Department of Defense 
and the VA is functional.
  I also think it is very important to make sure that we get those 
legacy records from the DOD wrapped into this whole package, because 
the service history, where our military servicemembers have served and 
what they

[[Page H2335]]

were exposed to, will provide a very important piece of information 
that will help us understand how toxic exposures have affected our 
veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in passing H.R. 1381, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1381.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

                          ____________________