109 HR 6124 IH: To provide protections and services to certain
U.S. House of Representatives
2006-09-20
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the Remember
9/11 Health Act
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)Thousands of
rescue workers who responded to the areas devastated by the terrorist attacks
of September 11th and local residents continue to suffer significant medical
problems as a result of compromised air quality and other toxins at the attack
sites.
(2)To date, the Mount
Sinai Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine in New York City has
examined approximately 9,000 first responders and Ground Zero workers. Of those
examined, more than 50 percent show physical or mental health problems that are
directly related to their work at the World Trade Center and Fresh Kill
sites.
(3)It appears that no
Federal program exists to support fully the medical treatment of those who
responded to the September 11th aftermath and who continue to experience health
problems as a result.
(4)A
significant portion of those who responded to the September 11th aftermath have
no health insurance, lost their health insurance as a result of the attacks, or
have inadequate health insurance for the medical conditions they developed as a
result of recovery work at the World Trade Center site.
(5)Rescue workers and
volunteers seeking workers compensation apparently have had their applications
denied, delayed for months, or redirected, instead of receiving assistance in a
timely and supportive manner.
(6)Confusion still
exists within the population of recovery workers and first responders about
where to obtain compensation for income losses and medical costs related to
their service in the September 11th recovery effort.
(7)Residents of the
City of New York need to be included in any health monitoring program to best
protect their long-term health.
(8)Federal aid
allocated for the monitoring of rescue workers’ health may need to be increased
to ensure the long-term study of health impacts of 9/11.
(9)Research on the
health impacts of the devastation caused by the September 11th terrorist
attacks has started, with initial findings of relationships between the air
quality from Ground Zero and a host of health impacts including, lower
pregnancy rates, lower birth weights in babies born nine months after the
disaster, and higher rates of respiratory and lung disorders in workers and
residents near Ground Zero.
(10)Further research
is needed to evaluate more comprehensively the health impacts of September 11
and research is needed regarding possible treatment for the illnesses and
injuries of September 11.
(11)The Federal
response to medical issues arising from September 11th response efforts need
improvement to meet the needs of rescue workers and local residents still
suffering health problems from the disaster.
(12)A Federal agency
or official needs to be designated to coordinate and monitor the overall
Federal response to the health impacts of September 11.
3.Subtitle B of title
VI of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is
amended by adding at the end the following:
630.Protections for
certain individuals
(a)For the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title
5, United States Code, relating to compensation to Federal employees for work
injuries, eligible recipients as defined in subsection (d) under this Act shall
be deemed civil employees of the United States within the meaning of the term
employee as defined in section 8101 of title 5, United States
Code, and the provisions of that subchapter shall apply.
(b)For the purpose of claims relating to damage to, or loss
of, personal property of an eligible recipient incident to service, an eligible
recipient under this Act shall be considered in the same manner as if such
eligible recipient was a civil employee of the Government of the United States,
except that an eligible recipient shall not be responsible for the payment of
any health care expenses, including mental health coverage, prescription drugs,
or copayments for all health and mental health care expenses that result from
exposure to the adverse conditions after the terrorist attack on September 11,
2001.
(c)Except as otherwise provided in this section, an eligible
recipient shall not be deemed a Federal employee and shall not be subject to
the provisions of law relating to Federal employment, including those relating
to hours of work, rates of compensation, leave, unemployment compensation, and
Federal employee benefits.
(d)Eligible
Recipient Defined
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for purposes of
this section, the term eligible recipient means—
(A)emergency service
personnel and rescue and recovery personnel who responded to the terrorist
attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, in New York City, in the State of
New York, any time during the period of September 11, 2001, through August 31,
2002;
(B)any other worker
or volunteer who responded to such attacks, including—
(i)a
police officer;
(ii)a
firefighter;
(iii)an emergency
medical technician;
(iv)a
transit worker;
(v)any participating
member of an urban search and rescue team;
(vi)a
Federal or State employee;
(vii)any other relief
or rescue worker or volunteer whom the Secretary determines to be
appropriate;
(viii)a person who
assisted in the recovery of human remains; and
(ix)a
person who assisted in the criminal investigation;
(C)a worker who
responded to such attacks by assisting in the cleanup or restoration of
critical infrastructure in and around New York City;
(D)a person whose
place of residence is in the declared disaster area;
(E)a person who was
employed in or attended school, child care, or adult day care in a building
located in the declared disaster area any time during the period of September
11, 2001, through August 31, 2002;
(F)a person who was employed at the Fresh
Kills recovery site on Staten Island at any time during the period of September
11, 2001, through August 31, 2002; and
(G)any other person
whom the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
(2)Notwithstanding the
determination requirements of paragraph (1), the immediate family members of an
individual who is an eligible recipient under paragraph (1) may receive
benefits under this section if the eligible recipient—
(A)is or was on the
date of the September 11th attacks the policy holder for such family;
and
(B)received family
health insurance as of September 11,
2001.
.
4.Health
screenings, examinations, and monitoring services
(a)Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 et
seq.) is amended by inserting after section 317R the following section:
317T.Certain health
services for individuals assisting with response to September 11 terrorist
attacks in New York City
(a)The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, shall make awards of grants or cooperative
agreements for the purpose of carrying out baseline and follow-up screening and
clinical examinations, and long-term health monitoring and analysis, for
covered individuals who meet the eligibility criteria under subsection
(d).
(b)For purposes of this section, the term covered
individuals means—
(1)emergency service
personnel and rescue and recovery personnel who responded to the terrorist
attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, in New York City, in the State of
New York, any time during the period of September 11, 2001, through August 31,
2002;
(2)any other worker
or volunteer who responded to such attacks, including—
(A)a police
officer;
(B)a
firefighter;
(C)an emergency
medical technician;
(D)a transit
worker;
(E)any participating
member of an urban search and rescue team;
(F)Federal and State
employees;
(G)a person who
worked to recover human remains;
(H)a person who worked
on the criminal investigation; and
(I)any other relief
or rescue worker or volunteer whom the Secretary determines to be
appropriate;
(3)a worker who
responded to such attacks by assisting in the cleanup or restoration of
critical infrastructure in and around the designated disaster area;
(4)a person whose
place of residence is in the declared disaster area;
(5)a person who is
employed in or attends school, child care, or adult day care in a building
located in the declared disaster area;
(6)a person who was
employed at the Fresh Kills recovery site on Staten Island at any time during
the period of September 11, 2001, through August 31, 2002; and
(7)any other person
whom the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
(c)
(1)Subject to the submission of an application satisfactory
to the Secretary, awards under subsection (a) shall be made only to—
(A)the consortium of
medical entities that, pursuant to the program referred to in subsection (g),
provided health services described in subsection (a) during fiscal year 2003
for the personnel described in subsection (b)(1), subject to the consortium
meeting the criteria established in paragraph (2); and
(B)the separate
program carried out by the New York City Fire Department.
(2)For
purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the criteria described in this paragraph for the
consortium referred to in such paragraph are that the consortium has
appropriate experience in the areas of environmental or occupational health,
toxicology, and safety, including experience in—
(A)developing
clinical protocols and conducting clinical health examinations, including
mental health assessments;
(B)conducting
long-term health monitoring and epidemiological studies;
(C)conducting
long-term mental health studies; and
(D)establishing and
maintaining medical surveillance programs and environmental exposure or disease
registries.
(d)Eligibility of
Covered IndividualsThe Secretary shall determine eligibility
criteria for covered individuals to receive health services under subsection
(a). Such criteria shall include the requirement that a covered individual may
not receive services through the program under such section unless the
individual enrolls in the program.
(e)Certain Program
RequirementsWith respect to the program under subsection (a),
the Secretary shall provide for the following:
(1)Awards under
subsection (a) shall designate an amount to be available only for covered
individuals who—
(A)are active or
retired firefighters of New York City; and
(B)in responding to
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, provided services in the immediate
vicinity of the World Trade Center.
(2)A covered
individual enrolled in the program may not receive services under the program
for a period exceeding 20 years after the date on which the individual first
receive services under the program, except that the Secretary may designate a
longer period if the Secretary determines that a longer period is appropriate
with respect to the health of covered individuals.
(3)The program may
not establish a maximum enrollment number of fewer than 40,000 covered
individuals.
(f)Authority
Regarding TreatmentThe Secretary may, to the extent determined
appropriate by the Secretary, authorize the program under subsection (a) to
provide treatment services to covered individuals who have no other means of
obtaining treatment.
(g)Relation to
Certain ProgramEffective on and after the date of the enactment
of the Remember 9/11 Health Act, the two programs carried out pursuant to the
appropriation of $90,000,000 made in Public Law 107–206 under the heading
Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund
, which programs
provide health services described in subsection (a) for the personnel described
in subsection (b)(1), shall be considered to be carried out under authority of
this section and shall be subject to the requirements of this section, except
for any period of transition determined appropriate by the Secretary, not to
exceed one year after such date of enactment.
(h)Authorization of
AppropriationsFor the purpose of awards under subsection (a),
there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each
of the fiscal years 2007 through 2026, in addition to any other authorizations
of appropriations that are available for such
purpose.
.
(b)Programs
Regarding Attack at PentagonThe Secretary of Health and Human
Services may, to the extent determined appropriate by the Secretary, establish
with respect to the terrorist attack at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001,
programs similar to the programs that are established in sections 317T and 409J
of the Public Health Service Act with
respect to the terrorist attacks on such date in New York City, in the State of
New York.
5.Research
regarding certain health conditionsPart B of title IV of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
284 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 409I the following
section:
409J.Research
regarding certain health conditions of individuals assisting with response to
September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City
(a)With respect to covered individuals as defined in section
317T, the Director of NIH shall conduct or support—
(1)diagnostic research
on qualifying health conditions of such individuals, in the case of conditions
for which there has been diagnostic uncertainty; and
(2)research on
treating qualifying health conditions of such individuals, in the case of
conditions for which there has been treatment uncertainty.
(b)Qualifying Health
ConditionsFor purposes of this section, the term
qualifying health conditions means adverse health conditions that
are considered by the Secretary to be associated with exposure to one or more
of the sites of the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, in
New York City, in the State of New York.
(c)Consultation
With Certain Medical ConsortiumThe Secretary shall carry out
this section in consultation with—
(1)the consortium of
medicine entities referred to in section 317T(c)(1); and
(2)the firefighters
department of New York City, and the union for the firefighters of such
department.
(d)The Director of NIH shall annually submit to the Congress
a report describing the findings of research under subsection (a).
(e)Authorization of
AppropriationsFor the purpose of carrying out this section,
there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each
of the fiscal years 2007 through 2010, in addition to any other authorizations
of appropriations that are available for such
purpose.
.
6.9/11 Health
Emergency Coordinating Council
(a)The
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall convene a council, to be known as
9/11 Health Emergency Coordinating Council
(in this section
referred to as the Council
), for the following purposes:
(1)Discussing,
examining, and formulating recommendations with respect to the adequacy and
coordination of the following:
(A)Response by the
Federal Government, State governments, local governments, and the private
sector to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
(B)Care and
compensation for the victims of such attacks.
(C)Federal tracking
of the monitoring of, and possible treatment for, individuals who are directly
suffering from, or may have long-term health effects from, such attacks.
(D)Coordination among
the members of the Council in responding to the terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001.
(2)In accordance with
subsection (c), rendering advisory opinions on the scope of any obligation of
the Federal Government resulting from the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001, relative to any obligation of an insurance company resulting from such
attacks.
(b)
(1)The
Secretary of Health and Human Services (or the Secretary’s designee) shall
serve as the chairperson of the Council.
(2)The members of the Council shall include the
following:
(A)The Secretary of
Defense (or the Secretary’s designee).
(B)The Secretary of
Labor (or the Secretary’s designee).
(C)The Director of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (or the Director’s designee).
(D)The Director of
the National Institutes of Health (or the Director’s designee).
(E)The Director of the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (or the Director’s
designee).
(F)A representative
of the Crime Victims Fund established under section 1402 of the Victims of
Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601).
(3)The
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall invite the following individuals
to serve as members of the Council:
(A)The Governor of
the State of New York (or the Governor’s designee).
(B)The Mayor of New
York City (or the Mayor’s designee).
(C)1 representative
of the New York City Fire Department.
(D)2 representatives
of the unions of New York City Fire Department employees.
(E)1 representative
of the New York City Police Department.
(F)2 representatives
of the unions of New York City Police Department employees.
(G)1 representative
of the police department of the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey.
(H)2 representatives
of the union of the police department of the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey.
(I)1 representative
of the New York State Department of Health.
(J)1 representative
of the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.
(K)1 representative
of the New York City Department of Health.
(L)1 representative
of the New York City Office of Emergency Management.
(M)1 representative
of the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics.
(N)1 representative
of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH).
(O)1 representative
of charitable organizations that had volunteers at Ground Zero.
(P)10 representatives
of labor unions in New York City that—
(i)are
not otherwise listed in this paragraph; and
(ii)reflect a cross
section of labor unions (including construction, municipal, and other labor
unions) whose members responded to, or assisted with the cleanup resulting
from, the attacks of September 11, 2001.
(Q)5 representatives
of nonprofit volunteer entities that assisted in recovery efforts following the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
(R)5 representatives
of a regional occupational provider that—
(i)works with the
World Trade Center Worker and Volunteer Medical Screening Program; and
(ii)is
under the direction of the Mount Sinai Center for Occupational and
Environmental Medicine.
(c)
(1)Subject to paragraph (2), the Council may render an
advisory opinion on the scope of any obligation of the Federal Government
resulting from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, relative to any
obligation of an insurance company resulting from such attacks.
(2)The
Council may issue an advisory opinion described in this subsection only at the
request of a party to one of the obligations involved.
(d)The
Council shall meet not less than 4 times each calendar year.
(e)Not
less than once each calendar year, the Council shall submit to the Congress a
report on the recommendations of the Council.
(f)Authorization of
AppropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2007
through 2016.
7.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated $1,900,000,000 for the period of fiscal years
2007 through 2012 for carrying out section 317T of the Public Health Service
Act (as added by section 4(a) of this Act), section 4(b) of this Act, section
409J of the Public Health Service Act (as added by section 5 of this Act), and
section 6 of this Act. Such authorization of appropriations is in addition to
any other authorizations of appropriations available for carrying out any of
such sections.