(a) Notice Required.—
(1)
(A)
Not less frequently than once each year, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice of the formal evaluations that the Secretary plans to conduct pursuant to section 1173 of this title.
(B)
Each notice published under subparagraph (A) shall include, for each formal evaluation referred to in the notice, an explanation as to why the military environmental exposures and adverse health outcomes that are the subject of the formal evaluation were chosen by the Secretary for formal evaluation under section 1173 of this title.
(2)
(3)
(A)
For each notice published under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall hold an open meeting for members of the public to voice their comments in response to the notice.
(B)
To help evaluate presumptions of service connection, the Secretary shall, not less frequently than quarterly, collaborate with, partner with, and give weight to the advice of veterans service organizations and such other stakeholders as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(b) Working Group.—
(1)
The Secretary shall establish a working group within the Department (in this section referred to as the “Working Group”).
(2)
The Working Group shall include personnel of the Veterans Health Administration and the Veterans Benefits Administration.
(3) The Secretary shall consult with, and seek the advice of, the Working Group with respect to cases in which—
(A)
a veteran may have, during active military, naval, air, or space service, experienced a toxic exposure; or
(c) Assessments.—
(1)
The Working Group shall assess cases of the toxic exposure of veterans and their dependents that occurred during active military, naval, air, or space service, including by conducting ongoing surveillance and reviewing such exposure described in scientific literature, media reports, information from veterans, and information from Congress.
(2)
The assessments under paragraph (1) shall cover suspected and known toxic exposures occurring during active military, naval, air, or space service, including by identifying and evaluating new and emerging toxic exposures that are not recognized under existing presumptions of service connection.
(3)
The Working Group may conduct an assessment under paragraph (1) in response to a comment received under paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a).
(4)
The Working Group shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, on a periodic basis, assess the Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record to ensure the accuracy of data collected.
(d) Development of Recommendations.—
(1)
Following an assessment of a case of the toxic exposure of veterans that occurred during active military, naval, air, or space service under subsection (c), or their dependents, the Working Group may develop a recommendation for formal evaluation under section 1173 of this title to conduct a review of the health effects related to the case of exposure if the Working Group determines that the research may change the current understanding of the relationship between an exposure to an environmental hazard and adverse health outcomes in humans.
(2)
Upon receipt of evidence suggesting that previous findings regarding the periods and locations of exposure covered by an existing presumption of service connection are no longer supported, the Working Group may nominate such evidence for formal evaluation under section 1173 of this title to modify the periods and locations.
(e) Reports by the Working Group.—Not less frequently than once each year, the Working Group shall submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives, and make publicly available, a report on—
(f) Responses by Secretary.—
In response to each report submitted under subsection (e), the Secretary shall, not later than 30 days after receiving the report, initiate a formal evaluation pursuant to section 1173 of this title.