[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 157 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5313-S5314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 5837. Mr. CARPER (for himself and Ms. Collins) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. 
Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) and intended to be proposed to the 
bill H.R. 7900, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for 
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. FAIRNESS FOR FEDERAL FIREFIGHTERS.

       (a) Certain Illnesses and Diseases Presumed to Be Work-
     related Cause of Disability or Death for Federal Employees in 
     Fire Protection Activities.--
       (1) Presumption relating to employees in fire protection 
     activities.--
       (A) In general.--Subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, 
     United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 
     8143a the following:

     ``Sec. 8143b. Employees in fire protection activities

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Employee in fire protection activities.--The term 
     `employee in fire protection activities' means an employee 
     employed as 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 
     in which life, property, or the environment is at risk, 
     including the prevention, control, suppression, or management 
     of wildland fires; and
       ``(D) performs the activities described in subparagraph (C) 
     as a primary responsibility of the job of the employee.
       ``(2) Rule.--The term `rule' has the meaning given the term 
     in section 804.
       ``(3) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
     of Labor.
       ``(b) Certain Illnesses and Diseases Deemed to Be 
     Proximately Caused by Employment in Fire Protection 
     Activities.--
       ``(1) In general.--For a claim under this subchapter of 
     disability or death of an employee who has been employed for 
     not less than 5 years in aggregate as an employee in fire 
     protection activities, an illness or disease specified on the 
     list established under paragraph (2) shall be deemed to be 
     proximately caused by the employment of that employee, if the 
     employee is diagnosed with that illness or disease not later 
     than 10 years after the last active date of employment as an 
     employee in fire protection activities.
       ``(2) Establishment of initial list.--There is established 
     under this section the following list of illnesses and 
     diseases:
       ``(A) Bladder cancer.
       ``(B) Brain cancer.
       ``(C) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
       ``(D) Colorectal cancer.
       ``(E) Esophageal cancer.
       ``(F) Kidney cancer.
       ``(G) Leukemias.
       ``(H) Lung cancer.
       ``(I) Mesothelioma.
       ``(J) Multiple myeloma.
       ``(K) Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
       ``(L) Prostate cancer.
       ``(M) Skin cancer (melanoma).
       ``(N) A sudden cardiac event or stroke suffered while, or 
     not later than 24 hours after, engaging in the activities 
     described in subsection (a)(1)(C).
       ``(O) Testicular cancer.
       ``(P) Thyroid cancer.
       ``(3) Additions to the list.--
       ``(A) In general.--
       ``(i) Periodic review.--The Secretary shall--

       ``(I) in consultation with the Director of the National 
     Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and any advisory 
     committee determined appropriate by the Secretary, 
     periodically review the list established under paragraph (2); 
     and
       ``(II) if the Secretary determines that the weight of the 
     best available scientific evidence warrants adding an illness 
     or disease to the list established under paragraph (2), as 
     described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, make such an 
     addition through a rule that clearly identifies that 
     scientific evidence.

       ``(ii) Classification.--A rule issued by the Secretary 
     under clause (i) shall be considered to be a major rule for 
     the purposes of chapter 8.
       ``(B) Basis for determination.--The Secretary shall add an 
     illness or disease to the list established under paragraph 
     (2) based on the weight of the best available scientific 
     evidence that there is a significant risk to employees in 
     fire protection activities of developing that illness or 
     disease.
       ``(C) Available expertise.--In determining significant risk 
     for purposes of subparagraph (B), the Secretary may accept as 
     authoritative, and may rely upon, recommendations, risk 
     assessments, and scientific studies (including analyses of 
     National Firefighter Registry data pertaining to Federal 
     firefighters) by the National Institute for Occupational 
     Safety and Health, the National Toxicology Program, the 
     National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 
     and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.''.
       (B) Technical and conforming amendment.--The table of 
     sections for subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 
     to section 8143a the following:

``8143b. Employees in fire protection activities.''.
       (C) Application.--The amendments made by this paragraph 
     shall apply to claims for compensation filed on or after the 
     date of enactment of this Act.
       (2) Research cooperation.--Not later than 120 days after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor 
     (referred to in this subsection as the ``Secretary'') shall 
     establish a process by which an employee in fire protection 
     activities, as defined in subsection (a) of section 8143b of 
     title 5, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1) of 
     this subsection (referred to in this subsection as an 
     ``employee in fire protection activities''), filing a claim 
     under chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, as amended 
     by this subsection, relating to an illness or disease on the 
     list established under subsection (b)(2) of such section 
     8143b (referred to in this subsection as ``the list''), as 
     the list may be updated under such section 8143b, shall be 
     informed about, and offered the opportunity to contribute to 
     science by voluntarily enrolling in, the National Firefighter 
     Registry or a similar research or public health initiative 
     conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
       (3) Agenda for further review.--Not later than 3 years 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
     shall--
       (A) evaluate the best available scientific evidence of the 
     risk to an employee in fire protection activities of 
     developing breast cancer, gynecological cancers, and 
     rhabdomyolysis;
       (B) add breast cancer, gynecological cancers, and 
     rhabdomyolysis to the list, by rule in accordance with 
     subsection (b)(3) of section 8143b of title 5, United States 
     Code, as added by paragraph (1) of this subsection, if the 
     Secretary determines that such evidence supports that 
     addition; and
       (C) submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
     Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Education and Labor of the House of Representatives a report 
     containing--
       (i) the findings of the Secretary after making the 
     evaluation required under subparagraph (A); and
       (ii) the determination of the Secretary under subparagraph 
     (B).
       (4) Report on federal wildland firefighters.--
       (A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term ``Federal 
     wildland firefighter'' means an individual occupying a 
     position in the occupational series developed pursuant to 
     section 40803(d)(1) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 
     Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(d)(1)).
       (B) Study.--The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
     of Agriculture, in consultation with the Director of the 
     National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, shall 
     conduct a comprehensive study on long-term health effects 
     that Federal wildland firefighters who are eligible to 
     receive compensation for work injuries under chapter 81 of 
     title 5, United States Code, as amended by this subsection, 
     experience after being exposed to fires, smoke, and toxic 
     fumes when in service.
       (C) Requirements.--The study required under subparagraph 
     (B) shall include--
       (i) the race, ethnicity, age, gender, and time of service 
     of the Federal wildland firefighters participating in the 
     study; and
       (ii) recommendations to Congress regarding what legislative 
     actions are needed to support the Federal wildland 
     firefighters described in clause (i) in preventing health 
     issues from the toxic exposure described in subparagraph (B), 
     similar to veterans who are exposed to burn pits.
       (D) Submission and publication.--The Secretary of the 
     Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit the 
     results of the study conducted under this paragraph to the 
     Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 
     the Senate and the Committee on Education and Labor of the 
     House of Representatives and make those results publicly 
     available.
       (5) Report on affected employees.--Beginning on the date 
     that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, with 
     respect to each annual report required under section 8152 of 
     title 5, United States Code, the Secretary--
       (A) shall include in the report the total number of, and 
     demographics regarding, employees in fire protection 
     activities with illnesses and diseases described in the list 
     (as the list may be updated under this subsection and the 
     amendments made by this subsection), as of the date on which 
     that annual report is submitted, which shall be disaggregated 
     by the specific illness or disease for the purposes of 
     understanding the scope of the problem facing those 
     employees; and
       (B) may--
       (i) include in the report any information with respect to 
     employees in fire protection activities that the Secretary 
     determines to be necessary; and
       (ii) as appropriate, make recommendations in the report for 
     additional actions that

[[Page S5314]]

     could be taken to minimize the risk of adverse health impacts 
     for employees in fire protection activities.
       (b) Increase in Time-period for FECA Claimant to Supply 
     Supporting Documentation to Office of Worker's 
     Compensation.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall--
       (1) amend section 10.121 of title 20, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, or any successor regulation, by striking ``30 
     days'' and inserting ``60 days''; and
       (2) modify the Federal Employees' Compensation Act manual 
     to reflect the changes made by the Secretary pursuant to 
     paragraph (1).
                                 ______