[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 125 (Thursday, July 20, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3496-S3497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1012. Mr. HAWLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2024 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 in subtitle G of title X, insert 
     the following:

     SEC. 10___. CLAIMS RELATING TO MANHATTAN PROJECT WASTE.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Radiation Exposure Compensation Expansion Act''.
       (b) Claims Relating to Manhattan Project Waste.--The 
     Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (Public Law 101-426; 42 
     U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended by inserting after section 5 the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 5A. CLAIMS RELATING TO MANHATTAN PROJECT WASTE.

       ``(a) In General.--A claimant shall receive compensation 
     for a claim made under this Act, as described in subsection 
     (b) or (c), if--
       ``(1) a claim for compensation is filed with the Attorney 
     General--
       ``(A) by an individual described in paragraph (2); or
       ``(B) on behalf of that individual by an authorized agent 
     of that individual, if the individual is deceased or 
     incapacitated, such as--
       ``(i) an executor of estate of that individual; or
       ``(ii) a legal guardian or conservator of that individual;
       ``(2) that individual, or if applicable, an authorized 
     agent of that individual, demonstrates that the individual--
       ``(A) was physically present in an affected area for a 
     period of at least 2 years after January 1, 1949; and
       ``(B) contracted a specified disease after such period of 
     physical presence;
       ``(3) the Attorney General certifies that the identity of 
     that individual, and if applicable, the authorized agent of 
     that individual, is not fraudulent or otherwise 
     misrepresented; and
       ``(4) the Attorney General determines that the claimant has 
     satisfied the applicable requirements of this Act.
       ``(b) Losses Available to Living Affected Individuals.--
       ``(1) In general.--In the event of a claim qualifying for 
     compensation under subsection (a) that is submitted to the 
     Attorney General to be eligible for compensation under this 
     section at a time when the individual described in subsection 
     (a)(2) is living, the amount of compensation under this 
     section shall be in an amount that is the greater of $50,000 
     or the total amount of compensation for which the individual 
     is eligible under paragraph (2).
       ``(2) Losses due to medical expenses.--A claimant described 
     in paragraph (1) shall be eligible to receive, upon 
     submission of contemporaneous written medical records, 
     reports, or billing statements created by or at the direction 
     of a licensed medical professional who provided 
     contemporaneous medical care to the claimant, additional 
     compensation in the amount of all documented out-of-pocket 
     medical expenses incurred as a result of the specified 
     disease suffered by that claimant, such as any medical 
     expenses not covered, paid for, or reimbursed through--
       ``(A) any public or private health insurance;
       ``(B) any employee health insurance;
       ``(C) any workers' compensation program; or
       ``(D) any other public, private, or employee health program 
     or benefit.
       ``(c) Payments to Beneficiaries of Deceased Individuals.--
     In the event that an individual described in subsection 
     (a)(2) who qualifies for compensation under subsection (a) is 
     deceased at the time of submission of the claim--
       ``(1) a surviving spouse may, upon submission of a claim 
     and records sufficient to satisfy the requirements of 
     subsection (a) with respect to the deceased individual, 
     receive compensation in the amount of $25,000; or
       ``(2) in the event that there is no surviving spouse, the 
     surviving children, minor or otherwise, of the deceased 
     individual may, upon submission of a claim and records 
     sufficient to satisfy the requirements of subsection (a) with 
     respect to the deceased individual, receive compensation in 
     the total amount of $25,000, paid in equal shares to each 
     surviving child.
       ``(d) Affected Area.--For purposes of this section, the 
     term `affected area' means, in the State of Missouri, the ZIP 
     Codes of 63031, 63033, 63034, 63042, 63045, 63074, 63114, 
     63135, 63138, 63044, 63140, 63145, 63147, 63102, 63304, 
     63134, 63043, 63341, 63368, and 63367.
       ``(e) Specified Disease.--For purposes of this section, the 
     term `specified disease' means any of the following:
       ``(1) Any leukemia, other than chronic lymphocytic 
     leukemia, provided that the initial exposure occurred after 
     the age of 20 and the onset of the disease was at least 2 
     years after first exposure.
       ``(2) Any of the following diseases, provided that the 
     onset was at least 2 years after the initial exposure:
       ``(A) Multiple myeloma.
       ``(B) Lymphoma, other than Hodgkin's disease.
       ``(C) Type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
       ``(D) Systemic lupus erythematosus.
       ``(E) Multiple sclerosis.
       ``(F) Hashimoto's disease.
       ``(G) Primary cancer of the--
       ``(i) thyroid;
       ``(ii) male or female breast;
       ``(iii) esophagus;
       ``(iv) stomach;
       ``(v) pharynx;
       ``(vi) small intestine;
       ``(vii) pancreas;
       ``(viii) bile ducts;
       ``(ix) gall bladder;
       ``(x) salivary gland;
       ``(xi) urinary bladder;
       ``(xii) brain;
       ``(xiii) colon;
       ``(xiv) ovary;
       ``(xv) liver, except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is 
     indicated;
       ``(xvi) lung;
       ``(xvii) bone; or
       ``(xviii) kidney.
       ``(f) Physical Presence.--For purposes of this section, the 
     Attorney General shall not determine that a claimant has 
     satisfied the requirements of subsection (a) unless 
     demonstrated by submission of contemporaneous written 
     residential documentation and at least one additional 
     employer-issued or government-issued document or record that 
     the claimant, for a period of at least 2 years after January 
     1, 1949, was physically present in an affected area or, if 
     applicable, was physically present in an area of the city of 
     St. Louis or the county of St. Louis in the State of Missouri 
     that is outside of an affected area.
       ``(g) Disease Contraction in Affected Areas.--For purposes 
     of this section, the Attorney General shall not determine 
     that a claimant has satisfied the requirements of subsection 
     (a) unless demonstrated by submission of contemporaneous 
     written medical records or reports created by or at the 
     direction of a licensed medical professional who provided 
     contemporaneous medical care to the claimant, that the 
     claimant, after such period of physical presence, contracted 
     a specified disease.''.
       (c) Extension on Fund and Time to Submit Claims.--The 
     Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (Public Law 101-426; 
     U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended--
       (1) in section 3(d)--
       (A) by striking ``2 years after the date of enactment of 
     the RECA Extension Act of

[[Page S3497]]

     2022'' and inserting ``22 years after the date of enactment 
     the Radiation Exposure Compensation Expansion Act''; and
       (B) by striking ``2-year period'' and inserting ``22-year 
     period''; and
       (2) in section 8(a), by striking ``2 years after the date 
     of enactment of the RECA Extension Act of 2022'' and 
     inserting ``22 years after the date of enactment of the 
     Radiation Exposure Compensation Expansion Act''.
                                 ______