[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 977 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 977

To include claims for injuries and death due to exposure during certain 
time periods from fallout emitted during the Government's above-ground 
   nuclear tests in Nevada that exposed individuals who lived in the 
            downwind affected area in the State of Montana.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 9, 2005

   Mr. Burns introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To include claims for injuries and death due to exposure during certain 
time periods from fallout emitted during the Government's above-ground 
   nuclear tests in Nevada that exposed individuals who lived in the 
            downwind affected area in the State of Montana.

    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 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE; APOLOGY.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Ninety-nine percent of the Iodine-131 (hereinafter 
        referred to as ``I-131'') in the atmosphere of the United 
        States came from 90 tests in Nevada, mainly in the years 1952, 
        1953, 1955 and 1957. I-131 is a leading cause of thyroid cancer 
        in America. The United States national average dosage per 
        person is 2 rads.
            (2) Of the 25 counties with the heaviest average dose of I-
        131, which is between 9 and 16 rads, 15 counties (Meagher, 
        Broadwater, Beaverhead, Jefferson, Powell, Judith Basin, 
        Madison, Fergus, Gallatin, Petroleum, Lewis and Clark, Blaine, 
        Silver Bow, Chouteau and Deer Lodge) are in the State of 
        Montana.
            (3) The county with the highest per capita thyroid dose of 
        I-131 in the country is Meagher county in Montana with 16 rads, 
        which is 800 percent higher than the national average.
            (4) Of the 56 counties in Montana, only Yellowstone County 
        has an I-131 exposure level near the national average. None of 
        the counties in Montana have an I-131 exposure level below the 
        national average.
            (5) As thyroid cancer takes 10 to 40 years to develop, 
        radiation exposure in the late 1950s might not manifest in 
        cancer until the late 1990s.
            (6) While the national average for thyroid cancer has 
        remained steady over the past 30 years, the rate of reported 
        thyroid cancer in Montana has increased steadily. In 1980, 
        Montana had a rate of thyroid cancer 6.2 times the national 
        average. In 1990, that rate had increased to 10.8 times the 
        national average and in 2000 the rate of reported thyroid 
        cancer in Montana was 17.5 times the national average.
            (7) When this data is age-adjusted, it is clear that the 
        diagnosis rates for thyroid cancer in Montana have increased 
        dramatically over the past decade, even relative to an increase 
        in national rates. Between 1989 and 1993, the age-adjusted rate 
        of thyroid cancer in Montana was 4.4 people per 10,000 persons, 
        compared to the national average of 5.5 people per 10,000 
        persons. Between 1994-1998, that rate increased to 6.3 in 
        Montana, but the national average only increased to 6.5. 
        Between 1999 and 2003, that rate in Montana increased again to 
        10.0, surpassing the national average of 7.6.
            (8) Between 1989 and 2003, the national age-adjusted rate 
        of thyroid cancer diagnosis increased by 38 percent. During 
        that same period of time, the rate in Montana increased 127 
        percent.
            (9) These increases in the thyroid cancer rate correspond 
        with the expected delay for the manifestation of thyroid cancer 
        from exposure during the nuclear testing in the 1950s.
            (10) The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 
        2210 note), enacted in 1990, establishes in the Department of 
        the Treasury the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund for 
        claims for injuries and death due to exposure during certain 
        time periods to radiation from: (1) nuclear testing in Utah, 
        Nevada, and Arizona; or (2) uranium mining in Colorado, New 
        Mexico, Arizona, or Utah.
            (11) None of the 5 counties with the highest I-131 
        exposure, which are located in Montana and Idaho, are covered 
        under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act . Only 3 of the 
        25 counties with the highest I-131 exposure are covered. No 
        counties in Montana are currently covered by the Radiation 
        Exposure Compensation Act. However, 3 counties in Nevada with 
        dosage rates nearly equal to the national average are covered.
            (12) The Board on Radiation Effects Research at the 
        National Academy of Sciences has conducted studies on the 
        effects of this radiation exposure in all 50 States and found 
        that the calculated absorbed dose to the thyroid of a person 
        born in 1948 who resided for the entire period evaluated in 
        Montana is 250 milligrays, higher than any of the counties in 
        Utah currently eligible for compensation.
            (13) Fallout emitted during the Government's above-ground 
        nuclear tests in Nevada exposed individuals who lived in the 
        downwind affected area in Montana to radiation that is presumed 
        to have generated an excess of cancers among these individuals.
            (14) The United States should recognize and assume 
        responsibility for the harm done to these individuals.
            (15) The lives and health of innocent individuals who lived 
        downwind from the Nevada tests, in the State of Montana, were 
        involuntarily subjected to increased risk of injury and disease 
        to serve the national security interests of the United States.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to establish a 
procedure to make partial restitution to individuals described in 
subsection (a) for the burdens they have borne for the Nation as a 
whole.
    (c) Apology.--Congress apologizes on behalf of the Nation to the 
individuals described in subsection (a) and their families for the 
hardships they have endured.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO RECA.

    (a) Compensation in General.--Section 4(b)(1) of the Radiation 
Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) in the State of Montana, the counties of 
                Meagher, Broadwater, Beaverhead, Jefferson, Powell, 
                Judith Basin, Madison, Fergus, Gallatin, Petroleum, 
                Lewis and Clark, Blaine, Silver Bow, Chouteau, and Deer 
                Lodge; and''.
    (b) Additional Relief.--Section 4 of the Radiation Exposure 
Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(c) Additional Relief.--
            ``(1) Other areas.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An individual who resided in a 
                region of Montana not covered under subsection 
                (b)(1)(D) during the time period described in 
                subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) may apply for compensation 
                under this Act.
                    ``(B) Procedure.--The National Cancer Institute, in 
                collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention, shall evaluate whether an individual 
                submitting an application under subparagraph (A) is 
                eligible for compensation under this Act on a case-by-
                case basis.
            ``(2) Other expenses.--An individual who is eligible for 
        compensation under subsection (b)(1)(D) or paragraph (1) shall 
        also receive compensation from the Fund for the costs of 
        screening, complications of screening, follow-up referrals, 
        work-up diagnosis, and treatment related to the specific 
        disease contracted by the individual.''.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 3(e) of the Radiation 
Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
            ``(3) Reca amendments of 2005.--There are authorized to be 
        appropriated to the Fund $200,000,000 to carry out the 
        Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2005. Any 
        amounts appropriated pursuant to this paragraph are authorized 
        to remain available until expended. Of the funds appropriated 
        to carry out the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments 
        of 2005, not less than 95 percent of the funds expended shall 
        be distributed directly to victims of radiation exposure.''.

SEC. 4. EDUCATION PROGRAM.

    The Health Resources and Services Administration shall conduct an 
enhanced program of education and communication about the health risks 
posed by radiation exposure from fallout from United States nuclear-
weapons testing.
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