[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 948 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 948

    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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 10, 2009

 Mrs. Capps (for herself, Mr. Platts, Mr. George Miller of California, 
     Ms. Matsui, Ms. Sutton, Mr. Levin, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. 
  Blumenauer, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Hare, Mr. Carney, Mr. Sherman, Ms. 
  Edwards of Maryland, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Rothman of New 
 Jersey, Mr. Hinchey, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. 
    Schiff, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Shuler, Ms. Hirono, Mr. 
McGovern, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Murtha, Mr. Stupak, Mr. McHugh, 
  Mr. Filner, Mrs. Miller of Michigan, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Michaud, Mrs. 
Emerson, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Ross, 
Mr. Miller of North Carolina, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Rahall, Mr. Wolf, Mr. 
 Connolly of Virginia, Mr. Sestak, Mr. Terry, Mr. Bishop of New York, 
 Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Ellison, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Scott of 
 Georgia, Mr. Lynch, Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. 
 Carson of Indiana, Mr. Farr, Mr. Cummings, Mr. McMahon, Mr. Lewis of 
 Georgia, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Markey of Massachusetts, Mr. Holden, Mr. 
Doyle, Mr. McIntyre, Ms. Pingree of Maine, Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, Mr. 
   Boswell, Mr. Clay, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Holt, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Nye, Mr. 
  Boucher, Mr. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr. Towns, Mr. Berman, Ms. 
 Richardson, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. McCotter, Mr. Murphy of Connecticut, 
Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. Arcuri, Mr. Costello, Mr. Andrews, 
   Mr. Baca, and Mr. Kagen) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 
2009''.

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 striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (19), by striking 
the period at the end of paragraph (20) and inserting ``; and'', and 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:
    ``(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, any uncommon infectious disease, including but not 
        limited to tuberculosis, hepatitis A, B, or C, and the human 
        immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 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.
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