Establishment of covered location veteran registry

(a) Establishment The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish and maintain a registry of veterans who served at covered locations who may have encountered toxic exposure during active military, naval, air, or space service (in this section referred to as the registry). (b) Purposes The registry shall be used to— (1) collect, process, maintain, and consolidate epidemiological information required to analyze incidence of adverse health effects among veterans who served in covered locations; (2) facilitate coordination between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense to verify service; (3) inform veterans of available health care, benefits, and screenings; and (4) support outreach, research, and claims adjudication related to toxic exposure. (c) Opt-Out and recruitment (1) Opt-out Participants must have the opportunity to opt-out of inclusion in the registry. (2) Recruitment The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall recruit veterans described in subsection (a) who are not represented in data sources of the Department of Defense or the Department of Veterans Affairs. (d) Data-Sharing The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall share information collected through the registry with the Secretary of Defense, consistent with applicable privacy and security laws, for purposes of identifying affected veterans and improving care and benefits delivery.