From July 13, 2022 post
Today, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) offered six amendments to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The amendments include measures to document and prevent PFAS and other toxic exposures, ensure Americans have access to clean, safe water, establish a standard record of military service for National Guard and Reserve members to improve their access to benefits, and limit the sale of F-16s to Turkey.
"Protecting the health of Granite Staters and supporting our servicemembers and veterans are among my top priorities in Congress," said Congressman Chris Pappas. "That's why I was proud to introduce several important amendments to this year's National Defense Authorization Act. I urge my colleagues to support these measures to protect our constituents and communities from the harmful effects of PFAS, ensure all veterans have equitable access to benefits following their service, and protect active duty personnel from toxic exposure."
Pappas's amendments include:
- Provisions to enact his bipartisan PFAS Registry Act, which would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to create a national database for service members and veterans with health concerns due to potential exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
- Provisions to enact his bipartisan Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act of 2022, which would further regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) by setting deadlines for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop water quality criteria and limits on industrial PFAS discharges into water and to water treatment plants.
- Provisions to enact his bipartisan Record of Military Service for Members of the Armed Forces Act, which would help National Guard and Reserve members receive the benefits they've earned by ensuring they are provided the same DD-214 form as other members of the Armed Forces following their retirement or completion of service.
- Provisions to conduct a study to assess whether individuals assigned to the Pease Air Force Base and Pease Air National Guard Base experience a higher-than-expected rate of cancer-related morbidity and mortality. The study would cover individuals assigned to the base during the period 1970 through 2020, and include those in an active duty or reserve component, or the National Guard.
- Provisions to require coordination between the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency, to proactively educate and protect active duty personnel from future exposures. The departments will be required to make active duty personnel aware of the potential risks of toxic exposure, and ways to prevent such exposures. These forward-looking provisions ensure that DOD and VA create a strategy for awareness and prevention of toxic exposures that will protect our active duty servicemembers from harm, save lives, and lower VA costs associated with toxic exposure cases moving forward.
- Provisions to limit the sale of F-16s to Turkey, which would stop President Biden from selling F-16s to Turkey and put in place needed Congressional oversight to ensure that Turkey does not use F-16s to violate Greece's sovereignty.
