PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Apr 5, 2021
Conceding Our Veterans' Exposures Now And Necessitating Training Act of 2021 or the COVENANT Act of 2021
This bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for certain illnesses related to exposure to airborne hazards or open burn pits and addresses the care available through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans with illnesses they assert to be related to exposures during their service.
Specifically, the bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for certain illnesses becoming manifest in covered veterans to a degree of 10% or more. 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.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
A covered veteran is any veteran who
served on or after August 2, 1990, in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, or the United Arab Emirates; or
served on or after September 11, 2001, in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, or other countries the VA determines to be relevant.
Among other elements, the bill
requires the VA to provide medical examinations for veterans who submit a claim for disability compensation for an illness not listed in the bill but that is asserted to be related to airborne hazard or open burn pit exposure;
authorizes the VA to stay pending claims for disability compensation related to the service and illnesses covered by this bill until the implementation of the bill; and
provides VA hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to covered veterans.
People & committees
Rep. Luria, Elaine G. [D-VA-2] · D–VA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Apr 7, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.2368 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.2368 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.2368 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.2368 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.