New Veterans Act Mandates Toxic Exposure Tracking, Presumes Illness for Nevada Test Site Service Since 1951

The new Fighting for the Overlooked Recognition of Groups Operating in Toxic Test Environments in Nevada (FORGOTTEN) Veterans Act of 2025 is tackling two major issues: the incomplete tracking of toxic exposure for service members and the long-overdue recognition of veterans exposed at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR).

This legislation immediately requires the Department of Defense (DoD) to overhaul the Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record (ILER)—that’s the official military health file that tracks toxic exposure. Now, the ILER has to document every toxic exposure a service member encounters, even if it happens stateside. Think of it as finally getting a complete safety data sheet for every job site, not just the obvious ones overseas. Crucially, this record must also include medical follow-up notes related to those exposures, making sure that information follows the veteran when they transition to the VA system (SEC. 2).

The Paper Trail Gets Real

For active duty personnel and DoD civilians, the bill creates a massive administrative change. If you served at a Department of Energy (DOE) facility that is already on the list for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, the law now presumes you were exposed to toxic substances (SEC. 3). This is huge because it removes a massive hurdle for future disability claims; you don't have to spend years proving the exposure happened—the law now assumes it did.

Furthermore, the DoD must now update service records to indicate if a service member was in an area with the potential for toxic exposure. If the exact location is classified, the DoD can simply check a box confirming the potential exposure risk, protecting national security while still giving the veteran the necessary documentation for a future VA claim (SEC. 2).

Finally Recognizing the Nevada Test Site

The most specific and impactful part of this bill focuses squarely on the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). The Secretary of Defense must now officially classify the NTTR as a location where contamination occurred (SEC. 4). This isn't a suggestion; it’s a mandate that changes the legal status of the site.

For veterans who were stationed at the NTTR on or after January 27, 1951, the VA must now treat that service as a “radiation-risk activity” (SEC. 5). Why does that matter? It significantly lowers the bar for qualifying for certain VA benefits. If you were involved in developing, building, running, or fixing up a military site within the NTTR, the VA must now presume you were exposed to toxins (SEC. 6).

New Presumed Conditions for NTTR Veterans

To make this recognition tangible, the bill adds new conditions to the list of illnesses the VA must presume are service-connected for these NTTR veterans. Specifically, the VA must now presume that lipomas and any conditions related to tumors are connected to service at the NTTR (SEC. 7). This means if a veteran who served there develops one of these conditions, they won't have to fight the VA to prove the connection—it's automatically presumed, streamlining the path to disability compensation. This is a critical move that validates decades of health struggles for veterans exposed at this historic, toxic site.