extent funds are available, the temporary or intermittent services of experts or consultants pursuant to section 3109 of title 5. (2) To the extent funds are available, the Commission may lease real property and acquire personal property either of its own accord or in consultation with the General Services Administration. (l) Communications (1) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), no person may restrict an employee of the Department in communicating with the Commission. (B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to a communication that is unlawful. (2) All ex parte communications with the Commission shall be made part of the public record. (m) Reference to National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine In the case that the Secretary enters into an agreement with another organization as described in section 202(h)(1) of the Toxic Exposure in the American Military Act of 2020 , any reference in this section to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine shall be treated as a reference to the other organization. (n) Toxic substance defined In this section, the term toxic substance has the meaning given that term in subparagraph (G)(iv) of section 1710(e)(1) of this title. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 5 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new item: 547. Toxic Exposure Review Commission. . 202. Agreement with National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concerning the exposure of humans to toxic substances (a) Purpose The purpose of this section is to provide for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (in this section referred to as the Academies ), an independent nonprofit scientific organization with appropriate expertise that is not part of the Federal Government, to review and evaluate the available scientific evidence regarding associations between diseases and exposure to toxic substances. (b) Agreement (1) In general The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into a