Duckworth Bill to Assess New Combat Zone Hazards

The proposed legislation would require the VA to evaluate toxic exposure risks in new combat zones within 180 days and adds Iran to the list of covered areas.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Military

Duckworth Bill to Assess New Combat Zone Hazards

Live Poll

Should the U.S. government do more to protect troops from future toxic exposure?

Sen. Tammy Duckworth is set to introduce legislation on November 11, 2026, requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to assess toxic hazards in any new combat zone within 180 days. The bill would also add Iran to the list of presumptive toxic-exposure combat zones.

Why it matters

Currently there is no clear mechanism for adding new combat zones to the presumptive exposure list, which covers more than a dozen countries and territories. The measure is intended to ensure veterans of the Iran conflict do not face the same exposure-related harms seen in earlier wars.

The bill sets a 180-day deadline for the VA to assess toxic hazards in any new combat zone and requires overseas assignments to be revisited at least every five years. Whether the VA will meet that deadline and how it would weigh Iran-specific hazards remains unknown.

The players

Tammy Duckworth

Democratic U.S. senator from Illinois and an Army veteran who has been a prominent advocate for veterans' toxic exposure benefits.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

The federal agency responsible for veterans' health care and benefits, including administration of the PACT Act's presumptive exposure列表.

The details

The bill requires the VA to recommend whether troops who served in new combat zones should be presumed exposed to toxic hazards. It builds on the PACT Act, which in 2022 expanded VA care and benefits to millions of veterans and eased the burden of proving that certain cancers and respiratory illnesses were caused by exposure.

November 11, 2026: Duckworth is set to introduce the legislation.
Within 180 days of a new combat zone designation: VA must complete its toxic hazard assessment.
May 2024: The VA had approved 1 million PACT Act claims.

Big Picture

The proposal extends the PACT Act of 2022, which opened VA care and benefits to millions of veterans and is projected to cost nearly $280 billion over a decade. It would address a gap the PACT Act left open by giving the VA a defined process for adding new combat zones to the presumptive exposure list.

If enacted, veterans who served in newly designated combat zones could be presumed exposed to toxic hazards, which would ease the burden of proving service-connected illnesses. Iran veterans in particular would fall under this presumption, though eligibility for any given condition would still depend on VA determinations.

The takeaway

The bill signals that toxic exposure policy for veterans may increasingly be decided in advance of new conflicts rather than after harm is documented. Watching whether the 180-day assessment process is adopted will show how seriously the VA treats emerging combat zones.

What happens next

Duckworth is set to introduce the legislation on November 11, 2026, and its progress through Congress will determine whether the VA adopts the new hazard assessment process.