[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''.
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