Sponsors (5)
The bill greatly expands and standardizes presumptions and record-sharing to make it materially easier for veterans exposed at listed sites to get VA care and benefits, at the trade-off of higher federal costs, added administrative burdens, and elevated privacy and data‑security risks.
Veterans (including former service members who served at DOE-listed facilities, the Nevada Test and Training Range, or the Nevada National Security Site) will be treated as presumptively exposed to toxic or radiation hazards, making it substantially easier to access VA healthcare, disability compensation, and related benefits.
VA and DoD claims processing should be faster and administratively simpler because standardized covered-location lists and presumptions reduce the need for veterans to prove specific exposures or stationing.
Current active-duty personnel and onsite workers at covered Nevada areas will be eligible for radiation-related presumptions dating back to January 27, 1951, extending protections and claims access to a broad pool of service members.
Taxpayers and federal budgets will likely face substantially higher costs because expanded presumptions and standardized lists will increase the number and scope of VA claims and benefit payments.
Expanded interagency data-sharing and creation of a central registry raise significant privacy and data-security risks for veterans' medical and personnel records, including concerns about inclusion without affirmative consent.
Administrative complexity — disputes over which site lists apply, the need to reconcile DoD/DOE/EEOICPA references, and the potential for incomplete or inconsistent records — could cause processing delays and uneven access to benefits.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Creates presumptions of toxic exposure for veterans who served at DOE EEOICPA-listed facilities or specified Nevada test/training areas, mandates DoD–VA identification and data sharing, establishes a registry, and directs an epidemiologic study.
Creates presumptions that veterans who served at certain Department of Energy facilities and within defined Nevada test and training areas were exposed to toxic substances or radiation, requires the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs to identify and share service records for those locations, establishes a registry of affected veterans, and directs a study of exposures and cancer outcomes. The bill also amends VA statutes to add the specified Nevada ranges and DOE-listed facilities to VA presumptions of exposure and requires VA–DoD coordination to help veterans receive health care, screening, and benefits with reduced burdens of proof.
Official title: To improve benefits for veterans who may have been exposed to toxic substances, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 3, 2026 by Susie Lee · Last progress June 3, 2026