Sergeant Dave Crete FORGOTTEN Veterans Act of 2026

This Act may be cited as the “Sergeant Dave Crete Fighting for the Overlooked Recognition of Groups Operating in Toxic Test Environments in Nevada Veterans Act of 2026” or the “Sergeant Dave Crete FORGOTTEN Veterans Act of 2026”.

In this Act:

(1) Active military, naval, air, or space service.— The term active military, naval, air, or space service has the meaning given that term in section 101(24) of title 38, United States Code.

(2) Covered location.— The term covered location means—

(A) any facility on the most recent list of facilities covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) published in the Federal Register by the Department of Energy; or

(B) with respect to service on or after January 27, 1951, any location within the Nevada Test and Training Range or the Nevada National Security Site (as defined on May 19, 2026).

(3) Toxic exposure.— The term toxic exposure has the meaning given that term in section 101(37) of title 38, United States Code.

(a) In general.— The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall establish and carry out a process to identify veterans who served at a covered location and may have encountered toxic exposure during active military, naval, air, or space service.

(b) Use of available information.— In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall use—

(1) military personnel and deployment records maintained by the Department of Defense; and

(2) information provided by veterans through the registry established under section 7.

(c) No affirmative evidence required.— The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not require a veteran to provide affirmative evidence of exposure to a specific toxic substance if service at a covered location is established.

Section 1112(c)(3)(B) of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new clause:

“(viii) Active military, naval, air, or space service, or onsite participation in any aspect of the development, construction, operation, or maintenance of a military installation (as defined in section 2801 of title 10), within the area that comprises the Nevada Test and Training Range and the Nevada National Security Site, as defined on May 19, 2026, during the period beginning on January 27, 1951, and ending on the date which the Secretary of Defense, with independent verification, certifies that the area that comprises the Nevada Test and Training Range and the Nevada National Security Site no longer pose radiation risk to personnel present, or enactment of the Sergeant Dave Crete Fighting for the Overlooked Recognition of Groups Operating in Toxic Test Environments in Nevada Veterans Act of 2026, whichever is later.”.

Section 1119(c)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in subparagraph (A)(viii), by striking “; or” and inserting a semicolon;

(2) in subparagraph (B)(ix), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:

“(C) at any time, performed active military, naval, air, or space service while assigned to a duty station in, including airspace above, any facility on the most recent list of facilities covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) published in the Federal Register by the Department of Energy; or

(D) on or after January 27, 1951, performed active military, naval, air, or space service while assigned to a duty station in, including airspace above, any location within the area that comprises the Nevada Test and Training Range and the Nevada National Security Site, as defined on May 19, 2026.”.

(a) In general.— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall seek to enter into an agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services or another appropriate scientific organization to study potential toxic exposures and environmental hazards at covered locations.

(b) Study.— The study required under subsection (a) shall—

(1) identify exposures associated with military occupations of veterans who served at covered locations, including exposures relating to chemicals, compounds, agents, and other phenomena; and

(2) review the literature to determine associations between such exposures and the incidence or prevalence of overall cancer morbidity and overall cancer mortality, and determine, to the extent possible, the prevalence and mortality of cancers among such veterans by using available sources of data, which may include—

(A) health care and other administrative databases of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and the military departments, respectively; and

(B) the national death index maintained by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(c) Transfer authority.— Amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Defense to carry out the study required under subsection (a) may be transferred without regard to section 2215 of title 10, United States Code, to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to pay for the study.

(d) Report.— At the conclusion of the study required under subsection (a), the Department of Health and Human Services or other appropriate scientific organization, as the case may be, shall submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives, the President of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and the Chair of the National Research Council a report containing the results of the study.

(a) Establishment.— The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish and maintain a registry of veterans who served at covered locations who may have encountered toxic exposure during active military, naval, air, or space service (in this section referred to as the “registry”).

(b) Purposes.— The registry shall be used to—

(1) collect, process, maintain, and consolidate epidemiological information required to analyze incidence of adverse health effects among veterans who served in covered locations;

(2) facilitate coordination between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense to verify service;

(3) inform veterans of available health care, benefits, and screenings; and

(4) support outreach, research, and claims adjudication related to toxic exposure.

(c) Opt-Out and recruitment.—

(1) Opt-out.— Participants must have the opportunity to opt-out of inclusion in the registry.

(2) Recruitment.— The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall recruit veterans described in subsection (a) who are not represented in data sources of the Department of Defense or the Department of Veterans Affairs.

(d) Data-Sharing.— The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall share information collected through the registry with the Secretary of Defense, consistent with applicable privacy and security laws, for purposes of identifying affected veterans and improving care and benefits delivery.

(a) In general.— The Secretary of Defense shall classify the following locations as a location where contamination occurred:

(1) On and after January 27, 1951, the Nevada Test and Training Range, including the Nevada National Security Site (as such site is defined on May 19, 2026).

(2) Any facility on the most recent list of facilities covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) published in the Federal Register by the Secretary of Energy.

(b) Identification process.—

(1) In general.— The Secretary of Defense shall establish a process to identify members of the Armed Forces and former members of the Armed Forces that were stationed at a facility specified in subsection (a).

(2) Documentation.— The Secretary of Defense shall establish a process to permit members of the Armed Forces and former members of the Armed Forces to provide documentation or evidence of their assignment at a facility specified in subsection (a) to assist the Secretary in identifying those members and former members under paragraph (1).

(3) Efforts.— The Secretary of Defense shall make all efforts to identify individuals described in paragraph (1) and shall not require members of the Armed Forces or former members of the Armed Forces to submit evidence of their stationing.

(c) Sharing of information.— The Secretary of Defense shall share with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs all information and documentation gathered under subsection (b) in order to provide the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with adequate documentation of the service of members of the Armed Forces and former members of the Armed Forces at facilities specified in subsection (a) and any injuries, exposures, or illnesses related to such service, for the purpose of establishing any claim for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to which such members and former members are legally entitled.