[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 49 (Monday, December 11, 2000)]
[Pages 3024-3025]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Action To Implement the Energy Employees Occupational 
Illness Compensation Act of 2000

December 7, 2000

    Today I am pleased to sign an Executive order that will help 
implement the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act of 
2000, which authorized compensation for thousands of Department of 
Energy workers who sacrificed their health in building the Nation's 
nuclear defenses. These individuals, many of whom were neither protected 
from nor informed of the hazards to which they were exposed, developed 
occupational illnesses as a result of their exposure to radiation and 
other hazards unique to nuclear weapons production and testing.
    This order builds on the administration's previously articulated 
principles and the framework established in the act to ensure the 
compassionate, fair, and timely compensation of these workers and their 
families. Specifically, the order defines the respective 
responsibilities of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, 
Energy, and Justice; establishes an Advisory Board on Radiation and 
Worker Health; and creates an interagency group to develop a legislative 
proposal and address program implementation issues.
    While the Nation can never fully repay these workers or their 
families, they deserve fair compensation for their sacrifices. I am 
pleased to take the next critical step in ensuring that these courageous 
individuals receive the compensation and recognition they have long 
deserved.

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