[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2463 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 2463

    To provide for payments to individuals who were the subjects of 
       radiation experiments conducted by the Federal Government.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 11, 1995

  Mr. Frost introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide for payments to individuals who were the subjects of 
       radiation experiments conducted by the Federal Government.

    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 Experimentation 
Compensation Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSE, AND APOLOGY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) since the 1940's, the Federal Government has 
        intentionally conducted secret radiation experiments in the 
        United States without the informed consent or knowledge of the 
        individuals on whom the experiments were performed;
            (2) such radiation experiments included eighteen subjects 
        of plutonium injection experiments, the subject of a zirconium 
        injection experiment, and several subjects of total body 
        irradiation experiments conducted during World War II;
            (3) the Federal Government performed such experiments not 
        in order to achieve medical or health benefits for the 
        individuals used in the tests, but for research purposes, to 
        allow Federal Government scientists and health specialists to 
        study the effects of radiation on the human body;
            (4) at the time of such experiments and in the years 
        following the experiments, the Federal Government failed to 
        inform the individuals tested, or their families, about the 
        nature and effects of the tests;
            (5) the Federal Government has harmed the subjects of such 
        radiation experiments;
            (6) the Congress presumes that the exposure to radiation of 
        the subjects of such experiments has generated an excess of 
        cancers and other debilitating diseases and health problems for 
        such subjects;
            (7) the Federal Government should recognize that the lives 
        and health of the innocent individuals who were the subjects of 
        such experiments were put at risk by the individuals' unknowing 
        and involuntary participation in radiation experiments; and
            (8) the Federal Government should assume responsibility for 
        the harm caused by its actions regarding the experiments.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to establish a 
procedure to make partial restitution to the individuals described in 
subsection (a) for the burdens they have borne for the Nation as a 
whole, although monetary compensation can never fully compensate them.
    (c) Apology.--The Congress apologizes on behalf of the Nation to 
the individuals described in subsection (a) and their families for the 
hardships they have endured because of the experiments described in 
subsection (a).

SEC. 3. TRUST FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States a trust fund to be known as the ``Radiation 
Experimentation Compensation Trust Fund'' (in this Act referred to as 
the ``Fund''), which shall be administered by the Secretary of the 
Treasury.
    (b) Investment of Amounts in Fund.--Amounts in the Fund shall be 
invested in accordance with section 9702 of title 31, United States 
Code, and any interest on, and proceeds from, any such investment shall 
be credited to and become a part of the Fund.
    (c) Availability of Fund.--Amounts in the Fund shall be available 
only for disbursement by the Attorney General under section 5.
    (d) Termination.--
            (1) Time of termination.--The Fund shall terminate not 
        later than the earlier of--
                    (A) the date on which the amount authorized to be 
                appropriated to the Fund by subsection (e), and any 
                income earned on such amount, have been expended from 
                the Fund; or
                    (B) 22 years after the date of the enactment of 
                this Act.
            (2) Amounts remaining in fund.--At the end of the 22-year 
        period referred to in paragraph (1)(B), if all of the amounts 
        in the Fund have not been expended, investments of amounts in 
        the Fund shall be liquidated, the receipts of such liquidation 
        shall be deposited in the Fund, and all funds remaining in the 
        Fund shall be deposited in the miscellaneous receipts account 
        in the Treasury.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Fund $2,500,000. Any amount appropriated pursuant 
to this subsection is authorized to remain available until expended.

SEC. 4. CLAIMS ELIGIBLE FOR PAYMENT.

    (a) In General.--Any individual who, without the individual's 
informed consent, was intentionally injected with plutonium or 
zirconium, or exposed to total body radiation, as a subject in an 
experiment of the Federal Government at any time during the period 
beginning on January 1, 1940, and ending on December 31, 1974, shall 
receive $50,000 if--
            (1) a claim for such payment is filed with the Attorney 
        General by or on behalf of such individual; and
            (2) the Attorney General determines, in accordance with 
        section 5(b), that the claim meets the requirements of this 
        Act.
    (b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) The term ``experiment'' means a test or other action 
        that is conducted primarily for research purposes to determine 
        the effect of exposure to radiation on the human body.
            (2) The term ``Federal Government'' means--
                    (A) the legislative, judicial, or executive branch 
                of the government of the United States, or any agency 
                or instrumentality of such a branch;
                    (B) any person or entity whose actions regarding an 
                experiment under which humans were injected with 
                plutonium or zirconium, or exposed to total body 
                radiation, were funded in any manner, approved, 
                authorized, supervised, or contracted for, by an entity 
                referred to in subparagraph (A); or
                    (C) any person or entity that was funded in any 
                manner, approved, authorized, supervised, or contracted 
                with, wholly or partially, by an entity referred to in 
                subparagraph (A) during a time period in which an 
                entity referred to in subparagraph (A) had knowledge 
                that such person or entity was conducting any 
                experiment under which humans were injected with 
                plutonium or zirconium, or exposed to total body 
                radiation.
            (3) The term ``informed consent'' means consent by an 
        individual (or the individual's parent or legal guardian, in 
        the case of an individual who was a minor or was incompetent at 
        the relevant time), to the individual's participation in an 
        experiment, after a full disclosure of the nature and purpose 
        of the experiment and its possible consequences that was 
        sufficient to allow the individual (or the individual's parent 
        or legal guardian, in the case of an individual who was a minor 
        or was incompetent at the relevant time) to intelligently 
        exercise judgment to decide whether the individual should 
        participate in the experiment.

SEC. 5. DETERMINATION AND PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.

    (a) Establishment of Filing Procedures.--The Attorney General shall 
establish procedures under which individuals may submit claims for 
payments under this Act.
    (b) Determination of Claims.--For each claim filed under this Act, 
the Attorney General shall determine whether the claim meets the 
requirements of section 4(a).
    (c) Payment of Claims.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall pay, from 
        amounts available in the Fund, each claim that the Attorney 
        General determines meets the requirements of this Act.
            (2) Offset of payment.--
                    (A) Offset of payment made under this Act.--A 
                payment under this Act to or on behalf of an individual 
                described in section 4(a) shall be offset by the amount 
                of any payment made to or on behalf of the individual 
                pursuant to a final award or settlement on a claim 
                (other than a claim for worker's compensation) against 
                any person, that is based on the individual's 
                participation in an experiment that is the basis for 
                the payment under this Act, including any payment under 
                the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 
                note).
                    (B) Offset of payment made under radiation exposure 
                compensation act.--For purposes of section 6(c)(2) of 
                the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 
                note), a payment made under this Act shall be 
                considered to be a final award or settlement on a claim 
                described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such section.
            (3) Right of subrogation.--Upon payment of a claim under 
        this section, the Federal Government is subrogated, for the 
        amount of the payment, to any right or claim that the 
        individual to whom the payment was made may have against any 
        person on account of participation in an experiment that is the 
        basis for the payment made under this Act.
            (4) Payments in case of deceased persons.--
                    (A) In general.--In the case of an individual who 
                is deceased at the time of payment under this section, 
                such payment may be made only as follows:
                            (i) If the individual is survived by a 
                        spouse who is living at the time of payment, 
                        such payment shall be made to such surviving 
                        spouse.
                            (ii) If the individual is not survived by a 
                        spouse described in clause (i), such payment 
                        shall be made in equal shares to the children 
                        of the individual who are living at the time of 
                        payment.
                            (iii) If the individual is not survived by 
                        a person described in clause (i) or (ii), such 
                        payment shall be made in equal shares to the 
                        parents of the individual who are living at the 
                        time of payment.
                            (iv) If the individual is not survived by a 
                        person described in any of clauses (i) through 
                        (iii), such payment shall be made in equal 
                        shares to the grandchildren of the individual 
                        who are living at the time of payment.
                            (v) If the individual is not survived by a 
                        person described in any of clauses (i) through 
                        (iv), such payment shall be made in equal 
                        shares to the siblings of the individual who 
                        are living at the time of payment.
                            (vi) If the individual is not survived by a 
                        person described in any of clauses (i) through 
                        (v), then such payment shall be made in equal 
                        shares to the grandparents of the individual 
                        who are living at the time of payment.
                    (B) Filing of claim by survivor.--If an individual 
                eligible for payment under this Act dies before filing 
                a claim under this Act, a survivor of the individual 
                who may receive payment under subparagraph (A) may file 
                a claim for such payment on the individual's behalf.
                    (C) Definitions.--For purposes of this paragraph:
                            (i) The term ``child'' includes a 
                        recognized natural child, a stepchild who lived 
                        with an individual in a regular parent-child 
                        relationship, and an adopted child.
                            (ii) The term ``grandchild of the 
                        individual'' means a child of a child of the 
                        individual.
                            (iii) The term ``grandparent of the 
                        individual'' means a parent of a parent of the 
                        individual.
                            (iv) The term ``parent'' includes fathers 
                        and mothers through adoption.
                            (v) The term ``sibling of the individual'' 
                        means a child of the parent or parents of the 
                        individual.
                            (vi) The term ``spouse'' means a person who 
                        was married to the relevant individual for at 
                        least the 12 months immediately preceding the 
                        death of the individual.
    (d) Action on Claims.--Within 18 months after the filing of any 
claim under this Act--
            (1) the Attorney General shall make the determination 
        required by subsection (b) regarding the claim; and
            (2) if the claim is determined to meet the requirements of 
        section 4(a), the Attorney General shall make the payment 
        required by subsection (c)(1).
    (e) Settlement in Full of Claims Against United States.--Payment 
under this Act, when accepted by an individual, or the individual's 
survivors, shall be in full satisfaction of all claims of or on behalf 
of the individual against the United States that arise out of the 
participation in the experiment that is the basis for the payment made 
under this Act.
    (f) Administrative Costs Not Deducted From Payment.--No costs 
incurred by the Attorney General in carrying out this Act may be paid 
from, set off against, or otherwise deducted from any payment made 
under subsection (c)(1).
    (g) Termination of Duties of Attorney General.--The duties of the 
Attorney General under this section shall cease when the Fund 
terminates.
    (h) Treatment of Payments Under Other Laws.--A payment under 
subsection (c)(1) to an individual--
            (1) shall be treated for purposes of the internal revenue 
        laws of the United States as damages for human suffering; and
            (2) shall not be considered as income or resources for 
        purposes of determining the individual's eligibility to receive 
        benefits described in section 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31, United 
        States Code, or the amount of such benefits.
    (i) Use of Existing Resources.--The Attorney General should, to the 
extent available, use funds and resources available to the Attorney 
General to carry out the Attorney General's functions under this Act.
    (j) Regulatory Authority.--The Attorney General may issue 
regulations necessary to carry out this Act.
    (k) Issuance of Regulations and Procedures.--The initial 
regulations and procedures to carry out this Act shall be issued not 
later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (l) Judicial Review.--An individual whose claim for compensation 
under this Act is denied may seek initial judicial review solely in a 
district court of the United States. The court shall review the denial 
on the administrative record and shall hold unlawful and set aside the 
denial if it is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or 
otherwise not in accordance with law. Such an individual may appeal the 
decision of the district court to the appropriate higher Federal 
courts.

SEC. 6. CLAIMS NOT ASSIGNABLE OR TRANSFERABLE.

    No claim under this Act shall be assignable or transferable.

SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON CLAIMS.

    An individual, or the individual's survivors, may not receive 
payment under section 5(c)(1) unless a claim by or on behalf of the 
individual is filed under this Act within 20 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 8. ATTORNEY OR AGENT FEES.

    The agent, attorney, or other representative of an individual or of 
an individual's survivor may not receive, for services rendered in 
connection with a claim made under this Act, an amount equal to more 
than 10 percent of the payment made under this Act on such claim. Any 
person who violates this section shall be guilty of an infraction and 
shall be subject to a fine in the amount provided in title 18, United 
States Code.

SEC. 9. CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT AFFECTED BY PAYMENT.

    A payment made under section 5(c)(1) shall not be considered a form 
of compensation, or reimbursement for a loss, for purposes of imposing 
liability on the individual who receives the payment to repay any 
insurance carrier for insurance payments, or to repay any person on 
account of worker's compensation payments. A payment under this Act 
shall not affect any claim against an insurance carrier with respect to 
insurance, or against any person with respect to worker's compensation.

SEC. 10. BUDGET COMPLIANCE.

    No authority under this Act to enter into contracts or to make 
payments shall be effective in any fiscal year except to such extent or 
in such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriations Acts.
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