Veterans' Toxic Wounds Research Act of 2014
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Health.
Veterans' Toxic Wounds Research Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a master registry of veterans who experienced toxic exposures while serving in the Armed Forces. Includes in the master registry the registries for:
Agent Orange;
exposure to toxins relating to a deployment during the Persian Gulf War;
exposure to toxins relating to a deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Operation Enduring Freedom, or the Global War on Terror;
exposure to toxins relating to a deployment to Bosnia, Somalia, or the Philippines; and
exposure to toxins relating to being stationed at a military installation potentially contaminated by toxic substances.
Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to review published scientific information and studies, and make recommendations for future research, on the health effects: (1) of the toxic exposures covered in those registries, and (2) on the children and grandchildren of veterans who had a toxic exposure covered in those registries. Requires those reviews to inform the Secretary's selection of research to be conducted or funded by the VA.
Establishes a presumption of a service connection, for the purpose of veterans' disability and survivor benefits, for an illness that:
the Secretary determines warrants such a presumption by reason of having a positive association with exposure to a toxic substance covered in the master registry; and
becomes manifest, within the period the Secretary prescribes, in a veteran who experienced such exposure while serving in the Armed Forces.
Requires the Secretary's service connection determinations to be based on sound medical and scientific evidence that a positive association exists between: (1) the exposure of humans or animals to a toxic substance covered in the master registry, and (2) the occurrence of a diagnosed or undiagnosed illness in humans or animals.
Directs the Secretary, in implementing the VA's electronic health record system, to include specified information in each individual's electronic health record, including whether the individual served in the Armed Forces and, if so, the locations and dates of such service.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 19, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on October 28, 2014: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Timothy Walz (D-MN) introduced it on September 19, 2014, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 19, 2014, 4421 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4382 days ago, on October 28, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers