I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 675

To provide jurisdiction and procedures for affording relief for injuries arising

out of exposure to hazards involved in the mining and processing of beryllium.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 10, 1999

Mr. KANJORSKI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and

Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To provide jurisdiction and procedures for affording relief

for injuries arising out of exposure to hazards involved

in the mining and processing of beryllium.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Beryllium Exposure

5 Compensation Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSE, AND APOLOGY.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) hazards involved in the mining and process2 ing of beryllium and its compounds are presumed to

3 have caused injury, disease, and disability among

4 those who worked in the beryllium processing indus5 try;

6 (2) workers who were exposed to beryllium haz7 ards were subjected to increased risk of injury and

8 disease to serve the national security interests of the

9 United States; and

10 (3) the United States should recognize and as11 sume responsibility for the harm done to these work12 ers.

13 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to estab14 lish a procedure to provide relief to the workers described

15 in subsection (a) for the burdens they have borne for the

16 Nation as a whole.

17 (c) APOLOGY.—The Congress apologizes on behalf of

18 the Nation to the workers described in subsection (a) and

19 their families for the hardships they have endured.

20 SEC. 3. TRUST FUND.

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

22 Treasury of the United States, a trust fund to be known

23 as the Beryllium Exposure Compensation Trust Fund,

24 which shall be administered by the Secretary of the Treas25 ury.
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1 (b) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS IN THE FUND.—

2 Amounts in the Fund shall be invested in accordance with

3 section 9702 of title 31, United States Code, and any in4 terest on, and proceeds from any such investment shall

5 be credited to the Fund.

6 (c) AVAILABILITY OF THE FUND.—Amounts in the

7 Fund shall be available only for disbursement by the At8 torney General under section 5.

9 (d) TERMINATION.—The Fund shall terminate 30

10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. If all

11 of the amounts in the Fund have not been expended by

12 the end of that 30-year period, investments of amounts

13 in the Fund shall be liquidated and receipts thereof depos14 ited in the Fund and all funds remaining in the Fund shall

15 be deposited in the miscellaneous receipts account in the

16 Treasury.

17 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

18 are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such sums

19 as may be necessary to carry out its purposes, which may

20 remain available until expended.

21 SEC. 4. CLAIMS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—A beryllium worker described in

23 subsection (b) shall receive $100,000 if—
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1 (1) the claim for such payment is filed with the

2 Attorney General by or on behalf of such individual;

3 and

4 (2) the Attorney General determines, in accord5 ance with section 5, that the claim meets the re6 quirements for payment under this Act.

7 (b) ELIGIBLE BERYLLIUM WORKER.—A beryllium

8 worker described in this subsection is an individual who—

9 (1) at any time during the period beginning

10 January 1, 1930, and ending December 31, 1980,

11 was employed at a beryllium industry site;

12 (2) was exposed to significant beryllium hazards

13 in the course of such employment; and

14 (3) after such exposure developed a condition

15 known to be related to beryllium exposure.

16 (c) CONFORMITY WITH SECTION 5.—Payments

17 under this section may be made only in accordance with

18 section 5.

19 SEC. 5. DETERMINATION AND PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FILING PROCEDURES.—The

21 Attorney General shall establish procedures whereby

22 claims may be submitted under this Act.

23 (b) REQUIRED PROCEDURES.—The procedures es24 tablished pursuant to subsection (a) shall provide that a
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1 claim meets the requirements for payment under this Act

2 only if the claim includes—

3 (1) adequate documentation that the individual

4 satisfies the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2)

5 of section 4(b); and

6 (2) written medical documentation that the in7 dividual satisfies the requirements of paragraph (3)

8 of section 4(b).

9 (c) DETERMINATION OF CLAIMS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall

11 determine, in accordance with the guidelines estab12 lished pursuant to this subsection, whether each

13 claim filed under this Act meets the requirements

14 for payment under this Act.

15 (2) CONSULTATION ON GUIDELINES.—The At16 torney General shall establish guidelines in consulta17 tion with—

18 (A) the Secretary of Defense, the Sec19 retary of Energy, and the Secretary of Labor,

20 for determining what constitutes adequate doc21 umentation that an individual satisfies the re22 quirements of paragraph (1) of section 4(b);

23 (B) the Director of the National Institute

24 for Occupational Safety and Health, for deter25 mining what constitutes significant beryllium
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1 hazards within the meaning of paragraph (2) of

2 section 4(b) and what constitutes adequate doc3 umentation that an individual satisfies the re4 quirements of such paragraph; and

5 (C) the Surgeon General, for determining

6 what constitutes written medical documentation

7 that an individual satisfies the requirements of

8 paragraph (3) of section 4(b).

9 (3) CONSULTATION ON DETERMINATIONS.—

10 The Attorney General may consult with—

11 (A) the Secretary of Defense, the Sec12 retary of Energy, and the Secretary of Labor in

13 making determinations pursuant to the guide14 lines established under paragraph (2)(A);

15 (B) the Director of the National Institute

16 for Occupational Safety and Health in making

17 determinations pursuant to the guidelines es18 tablished under paragraph (2)(B); and

19 (C) the Surgeon General in making deter20 minations pursuant to the guidelines established

21 under paragraph (2)(C).

22 (d) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 12, the

24 Attorney General shall pay, from amounts available

25 in the Fund, claims filed under this Act which the
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1 Attorney General determines meet the requirements

2 for payment under this Act.

3 (2) OFFSET FOR CERTAIN PAYMENTS.—A pay4 ment under this Act to an individual, or to a sur5 vivor of that individual, on a claim under section 4

6 shall be offset by the amount of any payment made

7 pursuant to a final award or settlement on a claim

8 (other than a claim for worker’s compensation),

9 against any person, that is based on injuries in10 curred by that individual on account of exposure to

11 significant beryllium hazards at any time during the

12 period referred to in section 4(b)(1).

13 (3) RIGHT OF SUBROGATION.—Upon payment

14 of a claim under this Act, the United States Govern15 ment is subrogated for the amount of the payment

16 to a right or claim that the individual to whom the

17 payment was made may have against any person on

18 account of injuries referred to in paragraph (2).

19 (4) PAYMENTS IN THE CASE OF DECEASED

20 PERSONS.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an indi22 vidual who is deceased at the time of payment

23 under this Act, such payment may be made

24 only as follows:
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1 (i) If the individual is survived by a

2 spouse who is living at the time of pay3 ment, such payment shall be made to such

4 surviving spouse.

5 (ii) If there is no surviving spouse de6 scribed in clause (i), such payment shall be

7 made in equal shares to all children of the

8 individual who are living at the time of

9 payment.

10 (iii) If there is no surviving spouse de11 scribed in clause (i) and if there are no

12 children described in clause (ii), such pay13 ment shall be made in equal shares to the

14 parents of the individual who are living at

15 the time of payment.

16 (iv) If there is no surviving spouse de17 scribed in clause (i), and if there are no

18 children described in clause (ii) or parents

19 described in clause (iii), such payment

20 shall be made in equal shares to all grand21 children of the individual who are living at

22 the time of payment.

23 (v) If there is no surviving spouse de24 scribed in clause (i), and if there are no

25 children described in clause (ii), parents
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1 described in clause (iii), or grandchildren

2 described in clause (iv), then such payment

3 shall be made in equal shares to the grand4 parents of the individual who are living at

5 the time of payment.

6 (B) INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SURVIVORS.—

7 If an individual eligible for payment under sec8 tion 4 dies before filing a claim under this Act,

9 any survivor of that individual described in sub10 paragraph (A) may file a claim for such pay11 ment under this Act.

12 (C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this

13 paragraph—

14 (i) the spouse of an individual is a

15 wife or husband of that individual who was

16 married to that individual for at least one

17 year immediately before the death of that

18 individual;

19 (ii) a child includes a recognized natu20 ral child, a stepchild who lived with an in21 dividual in a regular parent-child relation22 ship, and an adopted child;

23 (iii) a parent includes fathers and

24 mothers through adoption;
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1 (iv) a grandchild of an individual is a

2 child of a child of that individual; and

3 (v) a grandparent of an individual is

4 a parent of a parent of that individual.

5 (e) ACTION ON CLAIMS.—The Attorney General shall

6 complete the determination on each claim filed in accord7 ance with the procedures established under subsection (a)

8 not later than 12 months after the claim is so filed.

9 (f) PAYMENT IN FULL SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS

10 AGAINST UNITED STATES.—The acceptance of payment

11 by an individual under this Act shall be in full satisfaction

12 of all claims of or on behalf of that individual against the

13 United States, or against any person with respect to that

14 person’s performance of a contract with the United States,

15 that arise out of exposure to significant beryllium hazards

16 at any time during the period referred to in section

17 4(b)(1).

18 (g) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS NOT PAID FROM

19 FUND.—The costs incurred by the Attorney General in

20 carrying out this Act may not be paid from the Fund or

21 set off against, or otherwise deducted from, any payment

22 under this Act to any individual.

23 (h) TERMINATION OF DUTIES OF ATTORNEY GEN24 ERAL.—The duties of the Attorney General under this Act

25 shall cease when the Fund terminates.
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1 (i) CERTIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS

2 UNDER OTHER LAWS.—Amounts paid to an individual

3 under this Act—

4 (1) shall be treated for purposes of the internal

5 revenue laws of the United States as damages for

6 human suffering; and

7 (2) shall not be included as income or resources

8 for purposes of determining eligibility to receive ben9 efits described in section 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31,

10 United States Code, or the amount of such benefits.

11 (j) USE OF EXISTING RESOURCES.—The Attorney

12 General should use funds and resources available to the

13 Attorney General to carry out his or her functions under

14 this Act.

15 (k) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Attorney Gen16 eral may issue any regulations necessary to carry out this

17 Act.

18 (l) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND

19 PROCEDURES.—Regulations, guidelines, and procedures

20 to carry out this Act shall be issued not later than 180

21 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 6. CLAIMS NOT ASSIGNABLE OR TRANSFERABLE; LIMI2 TATION OF REMEDIES.

3 (a) CLAIMS NOT ASSIGNABLE OR TRANSFERABLE.—

4 A claim cognizable under this Act may not be assigned

5 or transferred.

6 (b) LIMITATION OF REMEDIES.—An individual may

7 not receive more than one payment under this Act.

8 SEC. 7. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.

9 A claim to which this Act applies shall be barred un10 less the claim is filed within 20 years after the date of

11 the enactment of this Act.

12 SEC. 8. ATTORNEY FEES.

13 It shall be unlawful for an amount exceeding 10 per14 cent of the value of any payment made under this Act

15 to be paid to, or received by, any agent or attorney for

16 any service rendered in connection with the claim for pay17 ment. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty

18 of an infraction, and shall be subject to a fine in the

19 amount provided in title 18, United States Code.

20 SEC. 9. CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT AFFECTED BY AWARDS OF

21 DAMAGES.

22 A payment made under this Act shall not be consid23 ered as any form of compensation or reimbursement for

24 a loss for purposes of imposing liability on any individual

25 receiving such payment, on the basis of such receipt, to

26 repay any insurance carrier for insurance payments, or to
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1 repay any person on account of worker’s compensation

2 payments, and a payment under this Act shall not affect

3 any claim against an insurance carrier with respect to in4 surance or against any person with respect to worker’s

5 compensation.

6 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

7 For purposes of this Act, the following definitions

8 shall apply:

9 (1) BERYLLIUM INDUSTRY SITE.—The term

10 ‘‘beryllium industry site’’ means a site that—

11 (A) was owned, operated, or supervised by

12 the Federal Government for the mining or proc13 essing of beryllium or a beryllium compound; or

14 (B) produced mined or processed beryllium

15 or beryllium compound under contract with the

16 Federal Government.

17 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Be18 ryllium Exposure Compensation Trust Fund under

19 section 3(a).

20 SEC. 11. REPORT.

21 The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall

22 submit to the Congress not later than September 30,

23 2003, a report on the incidence of beryllium-related illness

24 among workers employed at beryllium industry sites.
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1 SEC. 12. BUDGET ACT COMPLIANCE.

2 The authority under this Act to enter into contracts

3 or to make payments shall not be effective in any fiscal

4 year except to such extent or in such amounts as are pro5 vided in advance in appropriations Acts.

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