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H.R. 1279: Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act

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H.R. 1279: Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-03-01 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-03-01 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Esty, Elizabeth H. [D-CT-5] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act

Plain summary

Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a center of excellence in the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of health conditions relating to exposure to burn pits and other environmental exposures in Afghanistan or Iraq. The VA shall, in selecting the center's site, consider entities that: are equipped with the specialized equipment needed to study, diagnose, and treat health conditions relating to such exposure; have a track record of publishing information on post-deployment health exposures among veterans who served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; have access to animal models and in vitro models of dust immunology and lung injury consistent with the injuries of members of the Armed Forces who served in support of such operations; and have expertise in allergy, immunology, and pulmonary diseases. The VA shall ensure that the center collaborates with the Department of Defense (DOD), institutions of higher education, and other appropriate public and private entities to: provide for dissemination within the VA of best practices for the treatment of such conditions and the training of health professionals, provide guidance for the VA and DOD health systems in determining the personnel required to provide quality health care for members of the Armed Forces and veterans with such conditions, establish, and oversee a program to train VA and DOD health professionals in the treatment of such conditions, facilitate advancements in the study of the short-term and long-term effects of such exposure, conduct basic science and translational research on such conditions for the purposes of understanding the etiology of such conditions and developing preventive interventions and new treatments, and provide medical treatment to veterans diagnosed with medical conditions specific to exposure to burn pits and other environmental exposures. The center shall have access to and make use of the data accumulated by the burn pits registry.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Esty, Elizabeth H. [D-CT-5] · 44 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Betty McCollum (D-MN), Darren Soto (D-FL), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Scott H. Peters (D-CA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Ami Bera (D-CA), Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), André Carson (D-IN), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Peter Welch (D-VT), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-hr1279 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115