Senators push $15M bill to study birth defects in children of veterans exposed to toxic chemicals

WASHINGTON — The generational effects of chemical warfare agents and other hazardous materials on the descendants of service members would be evaluated under a bill to fund $15 million in research on birth defects identified in the children and grandchildren of toxic-exposed veterans.

The Molly R. Loomis Research for Descendants of Toxic Exposed Veterans Act would commission multiple studies that look at the connections between toxic exposures of service members in combat zones and severe disabilities that were later diagnosed in their descendants.

The bill is included in two separate appropriations bills for the Defense Department and the Interior Department that have advanced in the Senate. House lawmakers have not offered a companion bill.