119-hr2244

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2244 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2244

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish presumptions of 
 service connection for diseases associated with firefighting.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 March 21, 2025

 Mr. Bacon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish presumptions of 
 service connection for diseases associated with firefighting.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Michael Lecik Military Firefighters 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. PRESUMPTIONS OF SERVICE CONNECTION FOR DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH 
 FIREFIGHTING.

    (a) Establishment.--Subchapter II of chapter 11 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``

Sec. 1120A. Presumptions of service connection for diseases 
 associated with firefighting
 ``

    (a) Service Connection.--For the purposes of 

section 1110 of this 
title, and subject to 

section 1113 of this title, a disease specified 
in subsection

    (b) becoming manifest in a veteran described in 
subsection
            (c) to a degree of disability specified in subsection
            (d) and within the period specified in subsection

    (e) shall be considered 
to have been incurred in or aggravated during active military, naval, 
or air service, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of 
such disease during a period of such service.
 ``

    (b) Specified Diseases.--The diseases specified in this 
subsection are the following:
 ``

    (1) Heart disease.
 ``

    (2) Lung disease.
 ``

    (3) Brain cancer.
 ``

    (4) Cancer of the blood or lymphatic systems.
 ``

    (5) Leukemia.
 ``

    (6) Lymphoma (except Hodgkin's disease).
 ``

    (7) Multiple myeloma.
 ``

    (8) Bladder cancer.
 ``

    (9) Kidney cancer.
 ``

    (10) Cancer of the reproductive system (including 
 testicular cancer).
 ``

    (11) Cancer of the digestive system.
 ``

    (12) Colon cancer.
 ``

    (13) Liver cancer.
 ``

    (14) Skin cancer.
 ``

    (15) Lung cancer.
 ``

    (16) Breast cancer.
 ``

    (17) Each additional disease (if any) that the Secretary 
 determines in regulations prescribed under this section--
 ``
        (A) warrants a presumption of service connection 
 by reason of having positive association with 
 firefighting; and
 ``
        (B) becomes manifest within the period (if any) 
 prescribed in such regulations in a veteran described 
 in subsection
            (c) , notwithstanding subsection

    (e) .
 ``
            (c) Covered Veterans.--A veteran described in this subsection is 
a veteran who--
 ``

    (1) is trained in fire suppression; and
 ``

    (2) served on active duty in a military occupational 
 specialty or career field with a primary responsibility for 
 firefighting or damage control for at least five years in the 
 aggregate.
 ``
            (d) Degree of Disability.--The degree of disability specified in 
this subsection is 10 percent or more.
 ``

    (e) Period.--The period specified in this subsection is within 15 
years of the date on which the veteran separated from active military, 
naval, or air service.
 ``

    (f) Effective Date of Award.--The effective date of an award 
under this section shall be determined in accordance with 

section 5110 
of this title.''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

section 1120 the following new item:

``1120A. Presumptions of service connection for diseases associated 
 with firefighting.''.
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