[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 898 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 898

To make technical amendments to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act 
(42 U.S.C. 2210 note), provide compensation to certain claimants under 
                   such Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                 May 16 (legislative day, May 15), 2001

 Mr. Hatch (for himself, Mr. Domenici, and Mr. Daschle) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To make technical amendments to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act 
(42 U.S.C. 2210 note), provide compensation to certain claimants under 
                   such 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. RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 
2210 note) is amended--
            (1) in section 4(b)(1)(C), by inserting ``, and that part 
        of Arizona that is north of the Grand Canyon'' after ``Gila'';
            (2) in section 4(b)(2)--
                    (A) by striking ``lung cancer (other than in situ 
                lung cancer that is discovered during or after a post-
                mortem exam),''; and
                    (B) by striking ``or liver (except if cirrhosis or 
                hepatitis B is indicated).'' and inserting ``liver 
                (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated), or 
                lung.'';
            (3) in section 5(a)(1)(A)(ii)(I), by inserting ``or worked 
        for at least 1 year during the period described under clause 
        (i)'' after ``months of radiation'';
            (4) in section 5(a)(2)(A), by striking ``an Atomic Energy 
        Commission'' and inserting ``a'';
            (5) in section 5(b)(5), by striking ``or lung cancer'';
            (6) in section 5(c)(1)(B)(i), by striking ``or lung 
        cancer'';
            (7) in section 5(c)(2)(B)(i), by striking ``or lung 
        cancer'';
            (8) in section 6(e)--
                    (A) by striking ``The'' and inserting ``Except as 
                otherwise authorized by law, the''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, mill, or while employed in the 
                transport of uranium ore or vanadium-uranium ore from 
                such mine or mill'' after ``radiation in a uranium 
                mine'';
            (9) in section 6(i), by striking the second sentence;
            (10) in section 6(j), by adding at the end the following: 
        ``Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the 
        Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2000, the 
        Attorney General shall issue revised regulations to carry out 
        this Act.'';
            (11) in section 6, by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m) Substantiation by Affidavits.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall take such 
        action as may be necessary to ensure that the procedures 
        established by the Attorney General under this section provide 
        that a substantiation may be made by an individual filing a 
        claim under those procedures by means of an affidavit described 
        under paragraph (2), in addition to any other material that may 
        be used to substantiate--
                    ``(A) employment history for purposes of 
                determining working level months; or
                    ``(B) the residence of an individual filing a claim 
                under section 4.
            ``(2) Affidavits.--An affidavit referred to under paragraph 
        (1) is an affidavit that--
                    ``(A) meets such requirements as the Attorney 
                General may establish; and
                    ``(B) is made by a person other than the individual 
                filing the claim that attests to the employment history 
                or residence of the claimant.'';
            (12) in section 7, by amending subsection (b) to read as 
        follows:
    ``(b) Choice of Remedies.--No individual may receive more than 1 
payment under this Act.''; and
            (13) by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 14. GAO REPORTS.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 
2000, and every 18 months thereafter, the General Accounting Office 
shall submit a report to Congress containing a detailed accounting of 
the administration of this Act by the Department of Justice.
    ``(b) Contents.--Each report submitted under this section shall 
include an analysis of--
            ``(1) claims, awards, and administrative costs under this 
        Act; and
            ``(2) the budget of the Department of Justice relating to 
        this Act.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 3 of the Radiation Exposure 
Compensation Act Amendments of 2000 (Public Law 106-245) is amended by 
striking subsections (e) and (i).

SEC. 2. COMPENSATION FOR CERTAIN CLAIMANTS UNDER THE RADIATION EXPOSURE 
              COMPENSATION ACT.

    (a) In General.--Section 3630 of the Energy Employees Occupational 
Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, as enacted into law by Public 
Law 106-398, is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 3630. SEPARATE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CLAIMANTS UNDER THE 
              RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT.

    ``(a) Compensation Provided.--An individual who receives, or has 
received, a payment under section 4 or 5 of the Radiation Exposure 
Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) for a claim made under that Act 
(in this section referred to as a `covered individual'), or the 
survivor of that covered individual if the individual is deceased, 
shall receive compensation under this section in the amount of $50,000.
    ``(b) Medical Benefits.--A covered individual shall receive medical 
benefits under section 3629 for the illness for which that individual 
received a payment under section 4 or 5 of that Act.
    ``(c) Coordination With RECA.--The compensation and benefits 
provided in subsections (a) and (b) are separate from any compensation 
or benefits provided under that Act.
    ``(d) Payment From Compensation Fund.--The compensation provided 
under this section, when authorized or approved by the President, shall 
be paid from the compensation fund established under section 3612.
    ``(e) Survivors.--(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, if 
a covered individual dies before the effective date specified in 
subsection (g), whether or not the death is a result of the illness 
specified in subsection (b), a survivor of that individual may, on 
behalf of that survivor and any other survivors of that individual, 
receive the compensation provided for under this section.
    ``(2) The right to receive compensation under this section shall be 
afforded to survivors in the same order of precedence as that set forth 
in section 8109 of title 5, United States Code.
    ``(f) Procedures Required.--The President shall establish 
procedures to identify and notify each covered individual, or the 
survivor of that covered individual if that individual is deceased, of 
the availability of compensation and benefits under this section.
    ``(g) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on July 31, 
2001, unless Congress provides otherwise in an Act enacted before that 
date.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--(1) The table of sections 
for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act 
of 2000 is amended by striking the item relating to section 3630 and 
inserting the following:

        ``Sec.  3630.  Separate treatment of certain claimants under 
                            the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.''.
    (2) Section 3641 of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness 
Compensation Program Act of 2000, as enacted into law by Public Law 
106-398, is amended--
            (A) by striking ``covered uranium employee'' and inserting 
        ``covered individual''; and
            (B) by adding at the end the following: ``Nothing in this 
        section shall be construed to offset any payment of 
        compensation under section 3630 and any payment under the 
        Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note).''.

SEC. 3. ATTORNEY FEES.

    Section 3648(b)(2) of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness 
Compensation Program Act of 2000, as enacted into law by Public Law 
106-398, is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) 10 percent with respect to--
                    ``(A) any claim with respect to which a 
                representative has made a contract for services before 
                the date of enactment of this Act; or
                    ``(B) a resubmission of a denied claim.''.

SEC. 4. RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION.

    Section 3(e) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 
2210 note) is amended--
            (1) in the subsection heading by striking the first 2 words 
        and inserting ``Indefinite''; and
            (2) by striking ``authorized to be''.

SEC. 5. REPORTS BY THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL.

    (a) Contract for Reports.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General of the United States shall 
enter into a contract with the National Research Council to submit 
reports in accordance with subsection (b).
    (b) Reports.--Not later than December 31, 2002, and not later than 
December 31 of each year thereafter through 2010, the National Research 
Council shall submit a report, in accordance with the contract entered 
into under subsection (a), to Congress that--
            (1) reviews the most recent scientific information relating 
        to radiation exposure and related cancers; and
            (2) makes any recommendation to--
                    (A) reduce the length of radiation exposure 
                requirements; or
                    (B) include types of cancer or classes of 
                individuals to be covered by the Radiation Exposure 
                Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note).
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section--
            (1) $600,000 for fiscal year 2001; and
            (2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2001 
        through 2011.
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