H.R. 2622
The Fort McClellan Health Registry Act
"To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a registry of certain veterans who were stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, and for other purposes."
H.R. 2622 is a bill currently before the U.S. House of Representatives sponsored by Congressman Paul Tonko of New York's 20th congressional district. It was introduced on June 2, 2015 as the Fort McClellan Health Registry Act to the 114th Congress (2015-2016) and was referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Health. This however is not the first time Congressman Tonko has introduced this bill.He first introduced H.R. 6238 (Fort McClellan Health Registry Act) on September 28, 2010. It received only one cosponsor and the bill was referred to committee where it died. Then Congressman Tonko introduced H.R. 2052 (Fort McClellan Health Registry Act) on May 26, 2011. This time the bill received 27 cosponsors however it was once again referred to committee where it died never being brought to the House floor for a vote. He then introduced H.R. 411 on January 23, 2013 and although it received 84 cosponsors it too never made it out of committee and died at the end of the session.
Now Tonko's fourth attempt is before the same committee and like the previous, it has a long way to travel before this Congress concludes its business or the bill will die again. It must pass the committee, pass the House, and pass the Senate before it can be signed into law by the President.
At present, the tracking website GOVTRACK.US gives H.R. 2622
only a 5% chance of getting past committee and a 1% chance of being enacted.
The Fort Mac Vets deserve better.
Please join our brave veterans
in their third FOURTH attempt to ask Congress for help.
They ask for your voice, not your money. Visit our Support page HERE to learn how!
When Representative Tonko was facing the death of his previous bill, H.R. 411, he issued a plea for support to the American people on June 9, 2014. He wrote an article published on the popular website THE HILL, where he stated:
"If you agree with me and the dozens of bipartisan members of Congress that we owe it to those that served at Fort McClellan to see if there are patterns of health issues connected to their service, please join me. Pick up the phone, tweet, post on Facebook, email or meet with your representative and tell them to cosponsor H.R. 411."
