H.R. 5132: Healthy Servicemembers Act

This bill, known as the Healthy Servicemembers Act, aims to improve the health monitoring of military personnel and their families who live in unsafe housing conditions. The key components of the bill are highlighted below:

Screening for Health Conditions

• The Secretary of Defense is required to ensure that military medical facilities screen eligible individuals for health conditions that may arise from living in unsafe housing units.
• Through this screening process, individuals with identified health conditions may be included in a registry.

Creation of a Health Registry

• The Secretary of Defense will establish and maintain a registry of individuals who have health conditions linked to unsafe housing.
• The registry will contain information necessary to monitor the health of these individuals and track the relationship between their health issues and unsafe housing conditions.
• A public information campaign will be developed to inform eligible individuals about the registry, including how they can register and the benefits of doing so.

Definitions

• Covered Condition: This refers to medical conditions that the Secretary of Defense determines are a result of residing in an unsafe housing unit.
• Eligible Individual: This includes members of the Armed Forces or their family members who have lived in unsafe housing units.
• Unsafe Housing Unit: This is defined as a dwelling that fails to meet specific housing quality standards or is not free from dangerous levels of air pollution, including mold.

Clerical Amendment

The bill also includes a clerical change to update legal references in the relevant sections of the law to incorporate this new screening and registry process.

Relevant Companies

• None found