[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1924 Reported in Senate (RS)]






                                                      Calendar No. 1102
110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1924

    To amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to create a 
 presumption that a disability or death of a Federal employee in fire 
 protection activities caused by any of certain diseases is the result 
              of the performance of such employee's duty.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2007

   Mr. Carper (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Kerry, Ms. 
   Collins, Mr. Brown, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Isakson, Ms. 
    Snowe, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. 
Bingaman, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Casey, Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Cantwell, and Mrs. 
    Murray) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

            October 1 (legislative day, September 17), 2008

              Reported by Mr. Lieberman, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to create a 
 presumption that a disability or death of a Federal employee in fire 
 protection activities caused by any of certain diseases is the result 
              of the performance of such employee's duty.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Firefighters 
Fairness Act of 2007''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. CERTAIN DISEASES PRESUMED TO BE WORK-RELATED CAUSE OF 
              DISABILITY OR DEATH FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN FIRE 
              PROTECTION ACTIVITIES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Section 8102 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c)(1) In this subsection, the term `employee in fire 
protection activities' means an employee, including a firefighter, 
paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance 
personnel, or hazardous materials worker, who--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(A) is trained in fire suppression, has the 
        legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire 
        suppression; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(B) is engaged in the prevention, control, and 
        extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations 
        where life, property, or the environment is at risk.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(2) In the case of an employee in fire protection 
activities who has a disease specified in paragraph (3), the employee's 
disease shall be presumed to be proximately caused by the employment of 
such employee. A disability or death of an employee in fire protection 
activities due to such a disease shall be presumed to result from 
personal injury sustained while in the performance of such employee's 
duty. Such presumptions may be rebutted by a preponderance of the 
evidence.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(3) The diseases specified in this paragraph are the 
following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(A) Heart disease.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(B) Lung disease.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(C) The following cancers:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(i) Brain cancer.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(ii) Cancer of the blood or lymphatic 
                systems.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(iii) Leukemia.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(iv) Lymphoma (except Hodgkin's 
                disease).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(v) Multiple myeloma.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(vi) Bladder cancer.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(vii) Kidney cancer.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(viii) Prostate cancer.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(ix) Testicular cancer.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(x) Cancer of the digestive 
                system.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(xi) Colon cancer.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(xii) Liver cancer.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(xiii) Skin cancer.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(xiv) Breast cancer.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(xv) Lung cancer.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(D) The following infectious diseases:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(i) Tuberculosis.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(ii) Hepatitis A, B, or C.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(iii) Human immunodeficiency virus 
                (HIV).</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(iv) Diphtheria.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(v) Hemorrhagic fever.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(vi) Meningococcal disease.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(vii) Rabies.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(viii) Any uncommon infectious disease 
                the contraction of which the Secretary of Labor 
                determines to be related to the hazards to which an 
                employee in fire protection activities may be 
                subject.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
applies to an injury that is first diagnosed, or a death that occurs, 
on or after the date of enactment of this Act.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE .

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. CERTAIN DISEASES PRESUMED TO BE WORK-RELATED CAUSE OF 
              DISABILITY OR DEATH FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN FIRE 
              PROTECTION ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Definition.--Section 8101 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(21) `employee in fire protection activities' means a 
        firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue 
        worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material worker, 
        who--
                    ``(A) is trained in fire suppression;
                    ``(B) has the legal authority and responsibility to 
                engage in fire suppression;
                    ``(C) is engaged in the prevention, control, and 
                extinguishment of fires or response to emergency 
                situations where life, property, or the environment is 
                at risk; and
                    ``(D) performs such activities as a primary 
                responsibility of his or her job.''.
    (b) Presumption Relating to Employees in Fire Protection 
Activities.--Section 8102 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c)(1) With regard to an employee in fire protection activities, 
a disease specified in paragraph (2) shall be presumed to be 
proximately caused by the employment of such employee, subject to the 
length of service requirements specified. The disability or death of an 
employee in fire protection activities due to such a disease shall be 
presumed to result from personal injury sustained while in the 
performance of such employee's duty. Such presumptions may be rebutted 
by a preponderance of the evidence.
    ``(2) The following diseases shall be presumed to be proximately 
caused by the employment of the employee:
            ``(A) If the employee has been employed for a minimum of 5 
        years:
                    ``(i) Heart disease.
                    ``(ii) Lung disease.
                    ``(iii) The following cancers:
                            ``(I) Brain cancer.
                            ``(II) Cancer of the blood or lymphatic 
                        systems.
                            ``(III) Leukemia.
                            ``(IV) Lymphoma (except Hodgkin's disease).
                            ``(V) Multiple myeloma.
                            ``(VI) Bladder cancer.
                            ``(VII) Kidney cancer.
                            ``(VIII) Testicular cancer.
                            ``(IX) Cancer of the digestive system.
                            ``(X) Colon cancer.
                            ``(XI) Liver cancer.
                            ``(XII) Skin cancer.
                            ``(XIII) Lung cancer.
                    ``(iv) Any other cancer the contraction of which 
                the Secretary of Labor determines to be related to the 
                hazards to which an employee in fire protection 
                activities may be subject.
            ``(B) Regardless of the length of time an employee has been 
        employed:
                    ``(i) The following infectious diseases:
                            ``(I) Tuberculosis.
                            ``(II) Hepatitis A, B, or C.
                            ``(III) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
                    ``(ii) Any uncommon infectious disease the 
                contraction of which the Secretary of Labor determines 
                to be related to the hazards to which an employee in 
                fire protection activities may be subject.''.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 10 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall examine the 
implementation of this Act and appropriate scientific and medical data 
related to the health risks associated with firefighting and submit to 
Congress a report which shall include--
            (1) an analysis of the injury claims made under this Act;
            (2) an analysis of the available research related to the 
        health risks associated with firefighting; and
            (3) recommendations for any administrative or legislative 
        actions necessary to ensure that those diseases most associated 
        with firefighting are included in the presumption created by 
        this Act.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section applies to 
an injury that is first diagnosed, or a death that occurs, on or after 
the date of enactment of this Act.
                                                      Calendar No. 1102

110th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1924

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

    To amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to create a 
 presumption that a disability or death of a Federal employee in fire 
 protection activities caused by any of certain diseases is the result 
              of the performance of such employee's duty.

_______________________________________________________________________

            October 1 (legislative day, September 17), 2008

                       Reported with an amendment