[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 49 (Monday, December 11, 2000)]
[Pages 3025-3028]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 13179--Providing Compensation to America's Nuclear 
Weapons Workers

December 7, 2000

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States of America, including Public Law 106-398, 
the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 
2000 (Public Law 106-398, the ``Act''), and to allocate the 
responsibilities imposed by that legislation and to provide for further 
legislative efforts, it is hereby ordered as follows:
    Section 1. Policy. Since World War II, hundreds of thousands of men 
and women have served their Nation in building its nuclear defense. In 
the course of their work, they overcame previously unimagined scientific 
and technical challenges. Thousands of these courageous Americans, 
however, paid a high price for their service, developing disabling or 
fatal illnesses as a result of exposure to beryllium, ionizing 
radiation, and other hazards unique to nuclear weapons production and 
testing. Too often, these workers were neither adequately protected 
from, nor informed of, the occupational hazards to which they were 
exposed.
    Existing workers' compensation programs have failed to provide for 
the needs of these workers and their families. Federal workers' 
compensation programs have generally not included these workers. 
Further, because of long latency periods, the uniqueness of the hazards 
to which they were exposed, and inadequate exposure data, many of these 
individuals have been unable to obtain State workers' compensation 
benefits. This problem has been exacerbated by the past policy of the 
Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessors of encouraging and 
assisting DOE contractors in opposing the claims of workers who sought 
those benefits. This policy has recently been reversed.
    While the Nation can never fully repay these workers or their 
families, they deserve recognition and compensation for their 
sacrifices. Since the Administration's historic announcement in July of 
1999 that it intended to compensate DOE nuclear weapons workers who 
suffered occupational illnesses as a result of exposure to the unique 
hazards in building the Nation's nuclear defense, it has been the policy 
of this Administration to support fair and timely compensation for these 
workers and their survivors. The Federal Government should provide 
necessary information and otherwise help employees of the DOE or its 
contractors determine if their illnesses are associated with conditions 
of their nuclear weapons-related work; it should provide workers and 
their survivors with all pertinent and available information necessary 
for evaluating and processing claims; and it should ensure that this 
program minimizes the administrative burden on workers and their 
survivors, and respects their dignity and privacy. This order sets out 
agency responsibilities to accomplish these goals, building on the 
Administration's articulated principles and the framework set forth in 
the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 
2000. The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Energy 
shall be responsible for developing and implementing actions under the 
Act to compensate these workers and their families in a manner that is 
compassionate, fair, and timely. Other Federal agencies, as appropriate, 
shall assist in this effort.
    Sec. 2. Designation of Responsibilities for Administering the Energy 
Employees' Occupational Illness Compensation Program (``Program'').
    (a) Secretary of Labor. The Secretary of Labor shall have primary 
responsibility for administering the Program. Specifically, the 
Secretary shall:
 (i)        Administer and decide all questions arising under the Act 
            not assigned to other agencies by the Act or by this order, 
            including determining the eligibility of individuals with 
            covered occupational illnesses and their survivors and 
            adjudicating claims for compensation and benefits;
 (ii)       No later than May 31, 2001, promulgate regulations for the 
            administration of the Program, except for functions assigned 
            to other agencies pursuant to the Act or this order;
 (iii)      No later than July 31, 2001, ensure the availability, in 
            paper and electronic format, of forms necessary for

[[Page 3026]]

            making claims under the Program; and
 (iv)       Develop informational materials, in coordination with the 
            Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Health and Human 
            Services, to help potential claimants understand the Program 
            and the application process, and provide these materials to 
            individuals upon request and to the Secretary of Energy and 
            the Attorney General for dissemination to potentially 
            eligible individuals.
    (b) Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall:
 (i)        No later than May 31, 2001, promulgate regulations 
            establishing:
             (A) guidelines, pursuant to section 3623(c) of the Act, to 
            assess the likelihood that an individual with cancer 
            sustained the cancer in the performance of duty at a 
            Department of Energy facility or an atomic weapons employer 
            facility, as defined by the Act; and
             (B) methods, pursuant to section 3623(d) of the Act, for 
            arriving at and providing reasonable estimates of the 
            radiation doses received by individuals applying for 
            assistance under this program for whom there are inadequate 
            records of radiation exposure;
 (ii)       In accordance with procedures developed by the Secretary of 
            Health and Human Services, consider and issue determinations 
            on petitions by classes of employees to be treated as 
            members of the Special Exposure Cohort;
 (iii)      With the assistance of the Secretary of Energy, apply the 
            methods promulgated under subsection (b)(i)(B) to estimate 
            the radiation doses received by individuals applying for 
            assistance;
 (iv)        Upon request from the Secretary of Energy, appoint members 
            for a physician panel or panels to consider individual 
            workers' compensation claims as part of the Worker 
            Assistance Program under the process established pursuant to 
            subsection (c)(v); and
 (v)        Provide the Advisory Board established under section 4 of 
            this order with administrative services, funds, facilities, 
            staff, and other necessary support services and perform the 
            administrative functions of the President under the Federal 
            Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), with 
            respect to the Advisory Board.
    (c) Secretary of Energy. The Secretary of Energy shall:
 (i)        Provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the 
            Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health access, in 
            accordance with law, to all relevant information pertaining 
            to worker exposures, including access to restricted data, 
            and any other technical assistance needed to carry out their 
            responsibilities under subsection (b)(ii) and section 4(b), 
            respectively.
 (ii)       Upon request from the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
            or the Secretary of Labor, and as permitted by law, require 
            a DOE contractor, subcontractor, or designated beryllium 
            vendor, pursuant to section 3631(c) of the Act, to provide 
            information relevant to a claim under this Program;
 (iii)      Identify and notify potentially eligible individuals of the 
            availability of compensation under the Program;
 (iv)       Designate, pursuant to sections 3621(4)(B) and 3622 of the 
            Act, atomic weapons employers and additions to the list of 
            designated beryllium vendors;
 (v)        Pursuant to Subtitle D of the Act, negotiate agreements with 
            the chief executive officer of each State in which there is 
            a DOE facility, and other States as appropriate, to provide 
            assistance to a DOE contractor employee on filing a State 
            workers' compensation system claim, and establish a Worker 
            Assistance Program to help individuals whose illness is 
            related to employment in the DOE's nuclear weapons complex, 
            or the individual's survivor if the individual is deceased,

[[Page 3027]]

            in applying for State workers' compensation benefits. This 
            assistance shall include:
             (1) Submittal of reasonable claims to a physician panel, 
            appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and 
            administered by the Secretary of Energy, under procedures 
            established by the Secretary of Energy, for determination of 
            whether the individual's illness or death arose out of and 
            in the course of employment by the DOE or its contractors 
            and exposure to a toxic substance at a DOE facility; and
             (2) For cases determined by the physician panel and the 
            Secretary of Energy under section 3661(d) and (e) of the Act 
            to have arisen out of and in the course of employment by the 
            DOE or its contractors and exposure to a toxic substance at 
            a DOE facility, provide assistance to the individual in 
            filing for workers' compensation benefits. The Secretary 
            shall not contest these claims and, to the extent permitted 
            by law, shall direct a DOE contractor who employed the 
            applicant not to contest the claim;
 (vi)       Report on the Worker Assistance Program by making publicly 
            available on at least an annual basis claims- related data, 
            including the number of claims filed, the number of 
            illnesses found to be related to work at a DOE facility, job 
            location and description, and number of successful State 
            workers' compensation claims awarded; and
 (vii)      No later than January 15, 2001, publish in the Federal 
            Register a list of atomic weapons employer facilities within 
            the meaning of section 3621(5) of the Act, Department of 
            Energy employer facilities within the meaning of section 
            3621(12) of the Act, and a list of facilities owned and 
            operated by a beryllium vendor, within the meaning of 
            section 3621(6) of the Act.
    (d) Attorney General. The Attorney General shall:
 (i)        Develop procedures to notify, to the extent possible, each 
            claimant (or the survivor of that claimant if deceased) 
            whose claim for compensation under section 5 of the 
            Radiation Exposure Compensation Act has been or is approved 
            by the Department of Justice, of the availability of 
            supplemental compensation and benefits under the Energy 
            Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program;
 (ii)       Identify and notify eligible covered uranium employees or 
            their survivors of the availability of supplemental 
            compensation under the Program; and
 (iii)      Upon request by the Secretary of Labor, provide information 
            needed to adjudicate the claim of a covered uranium employee 
            under this Program.
    Sec. 3. Establishment of Interagency Working Group.
    (a) There is hereby established an Interagency Working Group to be 
composed of representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, 
the National Economic Council, and the Departments of Labor, Energy, 
Health and Human Services, and Justice.
    (b) The Working Group shall:
 (i)        By January 1, 2001, develop a legislative proposal to ensure 
            the Program's fairness and efficiency, including provisions 
            to assure adequate administrative resources and swift 
            dispute resolution; and
 (ii)       Address any impediments to timely and coordinated Program 
            implementation.
    Sec. 4. Establishment of Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker 
Health.
    (a) Pursuant to Public Law 106-398, there is hereby established an 
Advisory Board on Radiation and Health (Advisory Board). The Advisory 
Board shall consist of no more than 20 members to be appointed by the 
President. Members shall include affected workers and their 
representatives, and representatives from scientific and medical 
communities. The President shall designate a Chair for the Board among 
its members.
    (b) The Advisory Board shall:
 (i)        Advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the 
            development of guidelines under section 2(b)(i) of this 
            order;

[[Page 3028]]

 (ii)       Advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the 
            scientific validity and quality of dose reconstruction 
            efforts performed for this Program; and
 (iii)      Upon request by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
            advise the Secretary on whether there is a class of 
            employees at any Department of Energy facility who were 
            exposed to radiation but for whom it is not feasible to 
            estimate their radiation dose, and on whether there is a 
            reasonable likelihood that such radiation dose may have 
            endangered the health of members of the class.
    Sec. 5. Reporting Requirements. The Secretaries of Labor, Health and 
Human Services, and Energy shall, as part of their annual budget 
submissions, report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on 
their activities under this Program, including total expenditures 
related to benefits and program administration. They shall also report 
to the OMB, no later than March 1, 2001, on the manner in which they 
will carry out their respective responsibilities under the Act and this 
order. This report shall include, among other things, a description of 
the administrative structure established within their agencies to 
implement the Act and this order. In addition, the Secretary of Labor 
shall annually report on the total number and types of claims for which 
compensation was considered and other data pertinent to evaluating the 
Federal Government's performance fulfilling the requirements of the Act 
and this order.
    Sec. 6. Administration and Judicial Review. (a) This Executive Order 
shall be carried out subject to the availability of appropriations, and 
to the extent permitted by law.
    (b) This Executive Order does not create any right or benefit, 
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party 
against the United States, its agencies, its officers or employees, or 
any other person.
                                            William J. Clinton
 The White House,
 December 7, 2000.

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., December 8, 
2000]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on 
December 11.