Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act

[AI summary unavailable — showing source text] Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a center of excellence in the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of health conditions relating to exposure to open burn pits and other environmental exposures in Afghanistan or Iraq. The VA shall, in selecting the site, consider entities that: are equipped with the specialized equipment needed to study, diagnose, and treat health conditions relating to such exposure; have a publication track record of post-deployment health exposures among veterans who served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; have collaborated with a geosciences department that has a medical geology division; have developed animal models and in vitro models of dust immunology and lung injury consistent with the injuries of members of the Armed Forces who served in support of such Operations; and have expertise in allergy and immunology, pulmonary diseases, and industrial and management engineering. The VA shall ensure that the center collaborates with the Department of Defense (DOD), institutions of higher education, and other appropriate …