# K2 Veterans Care Act of 2021

This bill provides health care and disability benefits to veterans who were stationed at Karshi Khanabad Air Base in Uzbekistan between 2001 and 2005 and were exposed to toxic substances during their service. The base, commonly called K2, was used as a military hub during operations in Afghanistan, but it had serious environmental contamination problems that affected the troops stationed there.

The bill makes it easier for K2 veterans to get benefits by creating what's called a "presumption of service connection." Normally, when a veteran gets sick and wants VA benefits, they have to prove their illness was caused by their military service. This bill flips that around for K2 veterans—if they develop certain diseases linked to exposure to jet fuel, volatile organic compounds, dust from burn pits, depleted uranium, asbestos, or lead-based paint, the VA automatically assumes the illness came from their service at K2. Veterans don't have to provide medical evidence proving the connection; the government accepts it as fact. This applies to any illness that scientific research shows has even a limited or suggestive link to these toxic substances.

The practical effect is that eligible K2 veterans can now access VA hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for these conditions without fighting to prove their case. They can also receive disability compensation payments. The bill essentially recognizes that conditions at the base were hazardous and commits the government to taking care of veterans who were harmed by that exposure, even if the exact medical cause-and-effect isn't completely understood yet.

K2 Veterans Care Act of 2021

Lynch, Stephen F.

K2 Veterans Care Act of 2021 This bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for certain diseases becoming manifest in a veteran who served on active duty at Karshi-Khanabad (K2) Air Base in Uzbekistan between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2005. Specifically, there must be a presumption of service-connection for veterans who manifest illnesses that have a positive association with exposure to jet fuel, volatile organic compounds, high levels of particulate matter, depleted uranium, asbestos, or lead-based paint, as determined by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded. Veterans who served at K2 Air Base during the specified period are eligible for Department of Veterans Affairs hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for an illness that has been determined by NASEM to have a positive association with exposure to jet fuel, volatile organic compounds, high levels of particulate matter, depleted uranium, asbestos, or lead-based paint.