Fighting for the Overlooked Recognition of Groups Operating in Toxic Test Environments in Nevada (FORGOTTEN) Veterans Act of 2025

The Fighting for the Overlooked Recognition of Groups Operating in Toxic Test Environments in Nevada (FORGOTTEN) Veterans Act of 2025 aims to broaden how the U.S. government recognizes and compensates Armed Forces members and certain civilians for exposure to toxic substances. Key ideas include expanding the Defense Department’s Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record (ILER) to capture all toxic exposures (including intra-U.S. exposures), making that information accessible to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other relevant professionals, and placing new presumptions of exposure for workers at certain facilities. The bill also designates the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) as a location where contamination occurred and creates processes to identify personnel who served there since January 27, 1951. In addition, it extends VA exposure presumptions to cover activities at covered locations (notably at DOE facilities) and expands certain VA presumptions on service connection, including lipomas and tumor-related conditions for a subset of veterans tied to the NTTR. Overall, the act seeks to improve recognition of toxic-exposure risks tied to specific training ranges and facilities, and to streamline health and benefit pathways for those affected.