Congress presumes Nevada Test Site veterans were exposed to radiation
H.R. 1400 — To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a presumption that certain veterans were exposed to radiation and other toxins at the Nevada Test and Training Range for purposes of the treatment of certain disabilities under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. · Filed by Mark Amodei (R-NV) · 11 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 18, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill expands VA benefits for veterans who served at Nevada Test and Training Range between 1972 and 2005 by creating a legal presumption that they were exposed to radiation and toxic substances. Veterans meeting the criteria can now claim service-connected disabilities (including lipomas and tumors) without having to prove exposure occurred—the law presumes it did. This shifts the burden from veterans to the VA, making it easier for affected veterans to access disability compensation and medical care.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is to expand VA presumptions of service connection and toxic exposure for a specific cohort of veterans, making it easier for them to claim disability benefits tied to documented radiation exposure at a military site.
What the text implies
- The presumption applies only to service between 1972–2005, potentially excluding veterans who served at the site before 1972 or after 2005, even if exposure occurred during those periods.
- The exclusion of Nellis Air Force Base and Creech Air Force Base from 'covered locations' may reflect jurisdictional or administrative boundaries, but veterans stationed at those bases during the same period may face different evidentiary standards.
- Lipomas and tumor-related conditions are now presumed service-connected for covered veterans, but the bill does not specify which tumor types qualify, potentially creating future administrative or litigation disputes over scope.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Veterans who served at a contaminated military site gain a concrete legal presumption that shifts the evidentiary burden from them to the VA, making it substantially easier to obtain disability compensation and medical care for radiation-related conditions. This addresses a documented public-health harm (Nevada Test Site radiation exposure) and removes a procedural barrier that previously forced sick veterans to prove causation.
Who stands to gain
- Veterans Affairs (increased disability compensation and medical care obligations)
- Veterans with service at Nevada Test and Training Range (direct beneficiaries of presumption)
Named in the bill
Department of Veterans Affairs, Nevada Test and Training Range, Indian Springs Auxiliary Airfield, Nellis Air Force Base, Creech Air Force Base, 38 USC §1112(c)(3), 38 USC §1119(c), 38 USC §1120(b), 10 USC §2801
Where it stands
11 cosponsors: 8 Democrats, 3 Republicans.
- Feb 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 18, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Veterans' Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $310,451 in lobbying spend. A filing names 170 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Mark Amodei, the sponsor, reported $174,019 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Disabled American Veterans — $310,451 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 21, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,974 characters) on Jul 25, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 21, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress presumes Nevada Test Site veterans were exposed to radiation” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr1400 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.