# What This Bill Does

In November 2021, fuel leaked from a military storage facility in Hawaii called Red Hill, contaminating the drinking water at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. This bill creates a system to track and study the health effects of that contamination on the people who were exposed to it.

The bill requires the federal government to set up a voluntary registry where anyone affected by the Red Hill incident can sign up and have their health monitored. The Department of Health and Human Services will collect information about people's health conditions and any symptoms they might be experiencing related to the fuel exposure. This registry will help doctors and researchers understand what health problems, if any, are connected to drinking contaminated water. The government will also review what services and support are already available to affected people and figure out what additional help might be needed.

Beyond the registry, the bill mandates a long-term health study lasting at least 20 years to carefully examine whether people exposed to the contaminated water develop specific health problems. Researchers will track different groups—active-duty military members, veterans, and civilians—to see if there are patterns in illness or health issues. The government will spend at least $4 million initially to plan this study and figure out the best way to conduct it. Every year, the government must report back to Congress and notify affected individuals about what they're finding, and when the study is complete, they'll publish the full results publicly so everyone can see what they learned.

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an exposure registry and conduct epidemiological studies to assess health outcomes associated with the Red Hill Incident.