[20210816]IN11724_弗吉尼亚州目前正在处理海湾战争退伍军人关于新的呼吸系统推定疾病的伤残索赔.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i VA Now Processing Gulf War Veterans Disability Claims for New Respiratory Presumptive Conditions August 16, 2021 Background On August 2, 2021, the Department of V eterans Affairs (V A) announced it will begin processing disability claims for asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis on a presumptive basis due to presumed exposure to particulate matter (such as burn pit emissions) during servicemembers deployment to Southwest Asia and certain other countries. This update in presumptive conditions comes after V A Secretary Denis McDonough informed Congress on June 16, 2021, that he has “recommended initiation of rulemaking to establish a presumption of service connection for respiratory conditions related to exposure to particulate matter and other airborne hazards, which may conclude sic such conditions as asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis for Gulf War V eterans. This decision was based on the first iteration of a newly formed internal V A process to review scientific evidence relating to exposures.” Less than two months later, on August 5, 2021, V A began to adjudicate veterans claims for the aforementioned condition