Home > 106th Congressional Bills > S. 1516 (es) To amend title III of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11331 et seq.) to reauthorize the Federal Emergency Management Food and Shelter Program, and for other purposes. [Engrossed in Senate] ...S. 1516 (es) To amend title III of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11331 et seq.) to reauthorize the Federal Emergency Management Food and Shelter Program, and for other purposes. [Engrossed in Senate] ...
Calendar No. 370
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1515
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
November 2, 1999
Reported with an amendment
Calendar No. 370
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1515
To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 5, 1999
Mr. Hatch (for himself, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Bingaman, Mr.
Domenici, Mr. Wellstone, and Mr. Johnson) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
September 30, 1999
Committee discharged; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
November 2, 1999
Reported by Mr. Hatch, with an amendment
[Insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
Amendments of 1999''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210
note) recognized the responsibility of the Federal Government
to compensate individuals who were harmed by the mining of
radioactive materials or fallout from nuclear arms testing;
(2) a congressional oversight hearing conducted by the
Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate
demonstrated that since enactment of the Radiation Exposure
Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note), regulatory burdens have
made it too difficult for some deserving individuals to be
fairly and efficiently compensated;
(3) reports of the Atomic Energy Commission and the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health testify
to the need to extend eligibility to States in which the
Federal Government sponsored uranium mining and milling from
1941 through 1971;
(4) scientific data resulting from the enactment of the
Radiation Exposed Veterans Compensation Act of 1988 (38 U.S.C.
101 note), and obtained from the Committee on the Biological
Effects of Ionizing Radiations, and the President's Advisory
Committee on Human Radiation Experiments provide medical
validation for the extension of compensable radiogenic
pathologies;
(5) above-ground uranium miners, millers and individuals
who transported ore should be fairly compensated, in a manner
similar to that provided for underground uranium miners, in
cases in which those individuals suffered disease or resultant
death, associated with radiation exposure, due to the failure
of the Federal Government to warn and otherwise help protect
citizens from the health hazards addressed by the Radiation
Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 2210 note); and
(6) it should be the responsibility of the Federal
Government in partnership with State and local governments and
appropriate healthcare organizations, to initiate and support
programs designed for the early detection, prevention and
education on radiogenic diseases in approved States to aid the
thousands of individuals adversely affected by the mining of
uranium and the testing of nuclear weapons for the Nation's
weapons arsenal.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT.
(a) Claims Relating to Atmospheric Nuclear Testing.--Section
4(a)(1) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210
note) is amended to read as follows:
``(1) Claims relating to leukemia.--
``(A) In general.--An individual described in this
subparagraph shall receive an amount specified in
subparagraph (B) if the conditions described in
subparagraph (C) are met. An individual referred to in
the preceding sentence is an individual who--
``(i)(I) was physically present in an
affected area for a period of at least 1 year
during the period beginning on January 21,
1951, and ending on October 31, 1958;
``(II) was physically present in the
affected area for the period beginning on June
30, 1962, and ending on July 31, 1962; or
``(III) participated onsite in a test
involving the atmospheric detonation of a
nuclear device; and
``(ii) submits written documentation that
such individual developed leukemia--
``(I) after the applicable period
of physical presence described in
subclause (I) or (II) of clause (i) or
onsite participation described in
clause (i)(III) (as the case may be);
and
``(II) more that 2 years after
first exposure to fallout.
``(B) Amounts.--If the conditions described in
subparagraph (C) are met, an individual--
``(i) who is described in subclause (I) or
(II) of subparagraph (A)(i) shall receive
$50,000; or
``(ii) who is described in subclause (III)
of subparagraph (A)(i) shall receive $75,000.
``(C) Conditions.--The conditions described in this
subparagraph are as follows:
``(i) Initial exposure occurred prior to
age 21.
``(ii) The claim for a payment under
subparagraph (B) is filed with the Attorney
General by or on behalf of the individual.
``(iii) The Attorney General determines, in
accordance with section 6, that the claim meets
the requirements of this Act.''.
(b) Definitions.--Section 4(b) of the Radiation Exposure
Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A) by inserting ``Wayne, San
Juan,'' after ``Millard,''; and
(B) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as
follows:
``(C) in the State of Arizona, the counties of
Coconino, Yavapai, Navajo, Apache, and Gila; and''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by striking ``the onset of the disease was
between 2 and 30 years of first exposure,'' and
inserting ``the onset of the disease was at least 2
years after first exposure, lung cancer (other than in
situ lung cancer that is discovered during or after a
post-mortem exam),'';
(B) by striking ``(provided initial exposure
occurred by the age of 20)'' after ``thyroid'';
(C) by inserting ``male or'' before ``female
breast'';
(D) by striking ``(provided initial exposure
occurred prior to age 40)'' after ``female breast'';
(E) by striking ``(provided low alcohol consumption
and not a heavy smoker)'' after ``esophagus'';
(F) by striking ``(provided initial exposure
occurred before age 30)'' after ``stomach'';
(G) by striking ``(provided not a heavy smoker)''
after ``pharynx'';
(H) by striking ``(provided not a heavy smoker and
low coffee consumption)'' after ``pancreas''; and
(I) by inserting ``salivary gland, urinary bladder,
brain, colon, ovary,'' after ``gall bladder,''.
(c) Claims Relating to Uranium Mining.--
(1) In general.--Section 5(a) of the Radiation Exposure
Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended to read as
follows:
``(a) Eligibility of Individuals.--
``(1) In general.--An individual shall receive $100,000 for
a claim made under this Act if--
``(A) that individual--
``(i) was employed in a uranium mine or
uranium mill (including any individual who was
employed in the transport of uranium ore or
vanadium-uranium ore from such mine or mill)
located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona,
Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho,
North Dakota, Oregon, and Texas at any time
during the period beginning on January 1, 1942,
and ending on December 31, 1971; and
``(ii)(I) was a miner exposed to 40 or more
working level months of radiation and submits
written medical documentation that the
individual, after that exposure, developed lung
cancer or a nonmalignant respiratory disease;
or
``(II) was a miller or ore transporter who
worked for at least 1 year during the period
described under clause (i) and submits written
medical documentation that the individual,
after that exposure, developed lung cancer or a
nonmalignant respiratory disease or renal
cancers and other chronic renal disease
including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue
injury;
``(B) the claim for that payment is filed with the
Attorney General by or on behalf of that individual;
and
``(C) the Attorney General determines, in
accordance with section 6, that the claim meets the
requirements of this Act.
``(2) Inclusion of additional states.--Paragraph (1)(A)(i)
shall apply to a State, in addition to the States named under
such clause, if--
``(A) an Atomic Energy Commission uranium mine was
operated in such State at any time during the period
beginning on January 1, 1942, and ending on December
31, 1971;
``(B) the State submits an application to the
Department of Justice to include such State; and
``(C) the Attorney General makes a determination to
include such State.
``(3) Payment requirement.--Each payment under this section
may be made only in accordance with section 6.''.
(2) Definitions.--Section 5(b) of the Radiation Exposure
Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (3)--
(i) by striking ``and'' before
``corpulmonale'';
(ii) by striking ``; and if the claimant,''
and all that follows through the end of the
paragraph and inserting ``, silicosis, and
pneumoconiosis''; and
(iii) by striking ``and'' at the end of the
paragraph;
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(4) and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) the term `written medical documentation' for purposes
of proving a nonmalignant respiratory disease or lung cancer
means, in any case in which the claimant is living--
``(A)(i) an arterial blood gas study; or
``(ii) a written diagnosis by a physician meeting
the requirements of subsection (c)(1); and
``(B)(i) a chest x-ray administered in accordance
with standard techniques and the interpretive reports
of a maximum of 2 National Institute of Occupational
Health and Safety certified `B' readers classifying the
existence of the nonmalignant respiratory disease of
category 1/0 or higher according to a 1989 report of
the International Labor Office (known as the `ILO'), or subsequent
revisions;
``(ii) high resolution computed tomography scans
(commonly known as `HRCT scans') (including computer
assisted tomography scans (commonly known as `CAT
scans'), magnetic resonance imaging scans (commonly
known as `MRI scans'), and positron emission tomography
scans (commonly known as `PET scans')) and interpretive
reports of such scans;
``(iii) pathology reports of tissue biopsies; or
``(iv) pulmonary function tests indicating
restrictive lung function, as defined by the American
Thoracic Society;
``(6) the term `lung cancer'--
``(A) means any physiological condition of the
lung, trachea, or bronchus that is recognized as lung
cancer by the National Cancer Institute; and
``(B) includes in situ lung cancers;
``(7) the term `uranium mine' means any underground
excavation, including `dog holes', as well as open pit, strip,
rim, surface, or other aboveground mines, where uranium ore or
vanadium-uranium ore was mined or otherwise extracted; and
``(8) the term `uranium mill' includes milling operations
involving the processing of uranium ore or vanadium-uranium
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