# 119-hr-705: To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a compensation fund for military firefighters exposed to PFAS.

119-hr-705, To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a compensation fund for military firefighters exposed to PFAS., is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Strickland, Marilyn [D-WA-10] (D-WA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-705
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-705
- Congress: 119
- Title: To direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a compensation fund for military firefighters exposed to PFAS.
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-23
- Sponsor: Rep. Strickland, Marilyn [D-WA-10] (D-WA)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**This bill would create a _Military Firefighters Compensation Fund_ to provide compensation and medical benefits to military firefighters, certain contractors, and survivors for illnesses linked to PFAS exposure.** - Current and former military firefighters would get a presumption of PFAS exposure if they worked at a military installation, National Guard facility, or formerly used defense site when PFAS were present. They could receive compensation for disability or death plus medical services, appliances, supplies, and reasonable travel costs to obtain care. - Survivors and families would get defined priority payments. Benefits flow first to a surviving spouse, then to children, then parents, then grandchildren, then grandparents. If there is a surviving spouse and at least one minor child who is not the spouse’s natural or adopted child, half goes to the spouse and half is split among those minor children. - Certain contractors and subcontractors who served the Department of Defense would be eligible for the same presumption and compensation where applicable. - The Secretary of Defense would be required to set up the program and fund within two years and the bill authorizes such sums as may be necessary to operate it.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY), 2025-01-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2025-03-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] (D-CO), 2025-04-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- PFAS compensation for military firefighters: benefit, high. If enacted, the Secretary of Defense would create a Military Firefighters Compensation Fund within two years. Current and former military firefighters would be able to get payments for disability or death from PFAS exposure. The bill would create a rebuttable presumption of PFAS exposure if you wor…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-9401: Latonya Reeves Freedom Act of 2026
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-6976: Duty Status Reform Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-705 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/705)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1229)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-9401: Latonya Reeves Freedom Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9401)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-6976: Duty Status Reform Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6976)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-705 (as of 2026-04-21).