Text of Senate Amendment 5933

On 2026-06-23, Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 5933" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 5933

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S3079] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 5933. Mr. WELCH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: Insert after section 317 the following: SEC. 317A. IDENTIFICATION AND REPORTING OF CERTAIN OPEN-AIR BURN PITS NOT CONTROLLED BY DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. (a) Policy Revision.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall revise the policy of the Department of Defense governing the use of open-air burn pits to require operational commanders to identify, and report to the commander of the relevant combatant command and the Joint Staff Logistics Directorate, the presence of open-air burn pits described in subsection (b). (b) Open-air Burn Pit Described.--An open-air burn pit described in this subsection is an open-air burn pit not controlled by the Department of Defense used to dispose of non-Department generated waste that is-- (1) located within 4000 meters of an installation of the Department of Defense, a military installation, or any other location where members of the Armed Forces are housed, either temporarily or permanently, including an enduring location, a contingency location, a military facility associated with an access agreement with a host nation, a main operating base, a forward operating site, or a cooperative security location; or (2) located within 4000 meters of members of the Armed Forces and operated by an ally or partner of the United States, host nation forces, or a local entity that may result in exposure of such members. (c) Testing Requirement.--Each operational commander shall collect and evaluate air quality data in and around the area of any open-air burn pit identified pursuant to subsection (a) for the purpose of documenting the effects of open-air burning at such open-air burn pit, including, to the extent feasible, by conducting air quality testing in and around such area for toxins commonly associated with open-air burn pits. (d) Watch List Update.--The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that any open-air burn pit identified pursuant to subsection (a) is included in the official watch list of the Department of known burn pits. (e) Health Record Documentation.--The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that documented exposure risks associated with open-air burn pits identified pursuant to subsection (a), including the air quality data collected under subsection (c), are incorporated into the individual health records of potentially exposed members of the Armed Forces pursuant to section 704 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92; 10 U.S.C. 1074f note) for tracking purposes. (f) Report to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing-- (1) the location of each open-air burn pit identified pursuant to subsection (a); (2) the results of the collection and evaluation of air quality data under subsection (c); and (3) any updates to the watch list of the Department consistent with the requirement under subsection (d) made as of the date of the submission of such report, and the planned timeline of the Secretary for subsequent updates. (g) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means-- (1) the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives; and (2) the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives. ______