A bill to amend the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to strengthen the quality control measures in place for part B lung disease claims and part E processes with independent reviews.

Summary: Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to require the President to establish an Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health.

Requires the Board to provide advice to the President on the review and approval of the Department of Labor site exposure matrix (SEM) used to determine the eligibility of Department of Energy (DOE) employee contractor claims for compensation for lung disease resulting from exposure to toxic substances.

SECTION 1. ADVISORY BOARD ON TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND WORKER HEALTH.

    (a) Establishment.--Subtitle B of the Energy Employees Occupational 
Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 3632. ADVISORY BOARD ON TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND WORKER HEALTH.

    ``(a) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this section, the President shall establish 
        and appoint an Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker 
        Health (referred to in this section as the `Board').
            ``(2) Consultation on appointments.--In appointing members 
        to the Board under paragraph (1), the President shall consult 
        with organizations with expertise on worker health issues in 
        order to ensure that the membership of the Board reflects a 
        proper balance among perspectives from the scientific, medical, 
        legal, workers, and worker advocate communities.
            ``(3) Chairperson.--The President shall designate a 
        chairperson of the Board from among its members.
    ``(b) Duties.--The Board shall--
            ``(1) provide advice to the President concerning the review 
        and approval of the Department of Labor site exposure matrix;
            ``(2) conduct periodic peer reviews of, and approve, 
        medical guidance for part E claims examiners with respect to 
        the weighing of a claimant's medical evidence;
            ``(3) obtain periodic expert reviews of medical evidentiary 
        requirements for part B claims related to lung diseases;
            ``(4) provide oversight over consulting physicians and 
        reports to ensure quality, objectivity, and consistency of the 
        consultant physicians' work; and
            ``(5) coordinate where applicable exchanges of data and 
        findings with the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health 
        (under section 3624).
    ``(c) Staff and Powers.--
            ``(1) In general.--The President shall appoint a staff to 
        facilitate the work of the Board. The staff of the Board shall 
        be headed by a Director who shall be appointed under subchapter 
        VIII of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code.
            ``(2) Federal agency personnel.--The President may 
        authorize the detail of employees of Federal agencies to the 
        Board as necessary to enable the Board to carry out its duties 
        under this section. The detail of such personnel may be on a 
        non-reimbursable basis.
            ``(3) Powers.--The Board shall have same powers that the 
        Advisory Board has under section 3624.
    ``(d) Expenses.--The members of the Board, other than full-time 
employees of the United States, while attending meetings of the Board 
or while otherwise serving at the request of the President, and while 
serving away from their homes or regular place of business, shall be 
allowed travel and meal expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
subsistence (as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States 
Code) for individuals in the Federal Government serving without pay.
    ``(e) Security Clearances.--
            ``(1) Requirement.--The Secretary of Energy shall ensure 
        that the members and staff of the Board, and the contractors 
        performing work in support of the Board, are afforded the 
        opportunity to apply for a security clearance for any matter 
        for which such a clearance is appropriate. The Secretary 
        should, not later than 180 days after receiving a completed 
        application for such a clearance, make a determination whether 
        or not the individual concerned is eligible for the clearance.
            ``(2) Budget justification.--For fiscal year 2012, and each 
        fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall include 
        in the budget justification materials submitted to Congress in 
        support of the Department of Energy budget for that fiscal year 
        (as submitted with the budget of the President under section 
        1105(a) of title 31, United States Code) a report specifying 
        the number of applications for security clearances under this 
        subsection, the number of such applications granted, and the 
        number of such applications denied.
    ``(f) Information.--The Secretary of Energy shall, in accordance 
with law, provide to the Board and the contractors of the Board, access 
to any information that the Board considers relevant to carry out its 
responsibilities under this section, including information such as 
restricted data (as defined in section 2014(y)) and information covered 
by the Privacy Act.''.
    (b) Department of Labor Response to the Office of the Ombudsman 
Annual Report.--Section 3686 of the Energy Employees Occupational 
Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7385s-15) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (g), the following:
    ``(h) Response to Report.--Not later than 90 days after the 
publication of the annual report under subsection (e), the Department 
of Labor shall submit an answer in writing on whether the Department 
agrees or disagrees with the specific issues raised by the Ombudsman, 
if the Department agrees, on the actions to be taken to correct the 
problems identified by the Ombudsman, and if the Department does not 
agree, on the reasons therefore. The Department of Labor shall post 
such answer on the public Internet website of the Department.''.