[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1621 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1621

     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
 Assistance Act to authorize the President to carry out a program for 
     the protection of the health and safety of community members, 
              volunteers, and workers in a disaster area.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 1, 2001

Mrs. Clinton (for herself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Smith of New Hampshire, and 
 Mr. Corzine) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
 Assistance Act to authorize the President to carry out a program for 
     the protection of the health and safety of community members, 
              volunteers, and workers in a disaster area.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY OF INDIVIDUALS IN A DISASTER 
              AREA.

    Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act is amended by inserting after section 408 (42 U.S.C. 
5174) the following:

``SEC. 409. PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY OF INDIVIDUALS IN A 
              DISASTER AREA.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Harmful substance.--The term `harmful substance' 
        means a substance that the President determines may be harmful 
        to human health.
            ``(2) Program.--The term `program' means a program 
        described in subsection (b) carried out with respect to a 
        disaster area.
            ``(3) Worker.--The term `worker' includes a first responder 
        to a disaster, such as a police officer, a firefighter, and an 
        emergency medical technician.
    ``(b) Program.--If the President determines that 1 or more harmful 
substances are being, or have been, released in an area that the 
President has declared to be a disaster area under this Act, the 
President may carry out a program for the protection, assessment, 
monitoring, and study of the health and safety of community members, 
volunteers, and workers in the disaster area, to ensure that--
            ``(1) the community members, volunteers, and workers are 
        adequately informed about and protected against potential 
        health impacts of the harmful substance;
            ``(2) the community members, volunteers, and workers are 
        monitored and studied over time, and receive appropriate care, 
        for any long-term health impacts of the harmful substance; and
            ``(3) information from any such monitoring and studies is 
        used to prevent or protect against similar health impacts from 
        future disasters.
    ``(c) Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--A program may include such activities 
        as--
                    ``(A) collecting and analyzing environmental 
                exposure data;
                    ``(B) developing and disseminating educational 
                materials to community members, volunteers, and 
                workers;
                    ``(C) providing the public access to current 
                information on continuing releases of a harmful 
                substance in the disaster area;
                    ``(D) training and certifying volunteers and 
                workers in the use of personal protection equipment;
                    ``(E) identifying, performing baseline health 
                assessments on, taking biological samples from, and 
                establishing an exposure registry of community members, 
                volunteers, and workers exposed to a harmful substance;
                    ``(F) studying the long-term health impacts of any 
                exposures through epidemiological studies; and
                    ``(G) providing assistance to participants in 
                registries and studies under subparagraphs (E) and (F) 
                in determining eligibility for health coverage and 
                identifying appropriate health services.
            ``(2) Participation in registries and studies.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Participation in any registry or 
                study under subparagraph (E) or (F) of paragraph (1) 
                shall be voluntary.
                    ``(B) Protection of privacy.--The President shall 
                take appropriate measures to protect the privacy of any 
                participant in a registry or study described in 
                subparagraph (A).
            ``(3) Cooperative agreements.--The President may carry out 
        a program through a cooperative agreement with a medical or 
        academic institution, or a consortium of such institutions, 
        that is--
                    ``(A) located in close proximity to the disaster 
                area with respect to which the program is carried out; 
                and
                    ``(B) experienced in the area of environmental or 
                occupational health and safety, including experience 
                in--
                            ``(i) conducting long-term epidemiological 
                        studies;
                            ``(ii) conducting long-term mental health 
                        studies; and
                            ``(iii) establishing and maintaining 
                        environmental exposure or disease registries.
    ``(d) Reports and Responses to Studies.--
            ``(1) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        completion of a study under subsection (c)(1)(F), the 
        President, or the medical or academic institution or consortium 
        of such institutions that entered into the cooperative 
        agreement under subsection (c)(3), shall submit to the 
        Director, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
        Secretary of Labor, and the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency a report on the study.
            ``(2) Changes in procedures.--To protect the health and 
        safety of community members, volunteers, and workers, the 
        President shall make such changes in procedures as the 
        President determines to be necessary based on the findings of 
        the report submitted under paragraph (1).''.
                                 <all>