38 U.S.C. § 1175 — Authority to modify process; congres-

Page 204 TITLE 38—VETERANS’ BENEFITS § 1175 Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Title IV of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(A)(ii), is title IV of Pub. L. 117–168, Aug. 10, 2022, 136 Stat. 1780, which enacted section 1120 of this title, amended sec- tions 1112, 1113, 1116, 1117, and 1710 of this title, and en- acted provisions set out as notes under sections 101, 1116, and 1120 of this title. For complete classification of title IV to the Code, see Tables. § 1175. Authority to modify process; congres- sional oversight (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may modify the process under which the working group es- tablished under subsection (b) of section 1172 of this title conducts assessments under such sec- tion, the Secretary conducts formal evaluations under section 1173 of this title, and issues regu- lations under section 1174 of this title if— (1) such evaluations cover the evidence, data, and factors required by subsection (b) of such section 1173; and (2) a period of 180 days has elapsed following the date on which the Secretary submits the notice under subsection (b) regarding the modification. (b) NOTICE.—If the Secretary proposes to mod- ify the process under which the working group established under subsection (b) of section 1172 of this title conducts assessments under such section, the process under which the Secretary conducts formal evaluations under section 1173 of this title, or issues regulations under section 1174 of this title, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen- ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a notice of the pro- posed modifications containing the following: (1) A description of the proposed modifica- tions. (2) A description of any exceptions to the re- quirements of such sections that are proposed because of limited available scientific evi- dence, and a description of how such evalua- tions will be conducted. (Added Pub. L. 117–168, title II, § 202(a), Aug. 10, 2022, 136 Stat. 1771.) § 1176. Agreement with National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine con- cerning toxic exposures (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to provide for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (in this section re- ferred to as the ‘‘Academies’’), an independent nonprofit scientific organization with appro- priate expertise that is not part of the Federal Government, to review and evaluate the avail- able scientific evidence regarding associations between diseases and toxic exposures. (b) AGREEMENT.—(1) The Secretary shall seek to enter into a five-year agreement with the Academies to perform the services covered by this section. (2) The Secretary shall seek to enter into an agreement described in paragraph (1) not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Hon- oring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022. (3) An agreement under this section may be extended in five-year increments. (c) REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE.—Under an agreement between the Secretary and the Acad- emies under this section, the Academies shall review and summarize the scientific evidence, and assess the strength thereof, concerning the association between toxic exposures during ac- tive military, naval, air, or space service and each disease suspected to be associated with such exposure in the human population. (d) SCIENTIFIC DETERMINATIONS CONCERNING DISEASES.—For each disease reviewed under sub- section (c), the Academies shall determine, to the extent that available scientific data permit meaningful determinations— (1) whether an association exists between toxic exposures and the occurrence of the dis- ease, taking into account the strength of the scientific evidence and the appropriateness of the statistical and epidemiological methods used to detect the association; (2) the increased risk of the disease among those reporting toxic exposures during active military, naval, air, or space service; (3) whether there exists a plausible biologi- cal mechanism or other evidence of a positive association between the toxic exposure and the occurrence of the disease; and (4) determine the strength of evidence for a positive association based on categories fur- nished under section 1173 of this title. (e) COOPERATION OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The head of each relevant Federal agency, including the Secretary of Defense, shall cooperate fully with the Academies in performing the services covered by this section. (f) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL SCI- ENTIFIC STUDIES.—(1) Under an agreement be- tween the Secretary and the Academies under this section, the Academies shall make any rec- ommendations for additional scientific studies to resolve areas of continuing scientific uncer- tainty relating to toxic exposures. (2) In making recommendations under para- graph (1), the Academies shall consider— (A) the scientific information that is avail- able at the time of the recommendation; (B) the value and relevance of the informa- tion that could result from additional studies; and (C) the cost and feasibility of carrying out such additional studies. (g) REPORTS.—(1)(A) Under an agreement be- tween the Secretary and the Academies under this section, not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, the Academies shall submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives an initial report on the activities of the Academies under the agree- ment. (B) The report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall include the following: (i) The determinations described in sub- section (d).