I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1828 

To amend the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program 

Act of 2000 to expand the category of individuals eligible for compensation, to improve the procedures for providing compensation, and to improve transparency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 31, 2009 

Mr. POLIS of Colorado (for himself, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. 

SALAZAR, and Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 

to the Committee on Education and Labor, 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 amend the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to expand the category 

of individuals eligible for compensation, to improve the 

procedures for providing compensation, and to improve 

transparency, and for other purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Charlie Wolf Nuclear Workers Compensation Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; purpose. 

Sec. 3. Specified disease. 

Sec. 4. Definitions for program administration. 

Sec. 5. Change in presumption for finding of cancer. 

Sec. 6. Distribution of information to claimants and potential claimants. 

Sec. 7. Enhancement of site profiles of Department of Energy facilities. 

Sec. 8. Clarification of covered illnesses. 

Sec. 9. Payment of compensation to survivors and estates of contractor employees. 

Sec. 10. Wage loss resulting from exposure. 

Sec. 11. Expansion of toxic substance exposure for covered illnesses. 

Sec. 12. Extension of statute of limitations for judicial review of contractor employee claims. 

Sec. 13. Expansion of authority of Ombudsman of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program. 

Sec. 14. Payment for transportation and personal care services. 

Sec. 15. Enhancement of transparency in claims process. 

Sec. 16. Extension of time for claimants to respond to requests for information. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

5 (1) the Energy Employees Occupational Illness 

6 Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

7 7384 et seq.) (referred to in this subsection as the 

8 ‘‘Act’’) was enacted to ensure fairness and equity for 

9 the civilian men and women who, for more than 50 

10 years, have performed duties uniquely related to the 

11 nuclear weapons production and testing programs of 

12 the Department of Energy (including predecessor 

13 agencies of the Department of Energy) by estab14 lishing a program to provide efficient, uniform, and 

15 adequate compensation for— 


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1 (A) beryllium-related health conditions; 

2 and 

3 (B) heavy metal-, toxic chemical-, and ra4 diation-related health conditions; 

5 (2) the Act (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) provides 

6 a process for the consideration of claims for com7 pensation by individuals who were employed at rel8 evant times and at various locations, which includes 

9 provisions to designate employees at certain other lo10 cations as members of a special exposure cohort the 

11 claims of whom are subject to a less-detailed admin12 istrative process; 

13 (3) the Act (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) authorizes 

14 the President, upon a recommendation by the Advi15 sory Board on Radiation and Worker Health estab16 lished under section 3624(a)(1) of the Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 7384o(a)(1)), to designate additional classes 

18 of employees at facilities under the jurisdiction of 

19 the Department of Energy as members of a special 

20 exposure cohort if the President determines that— 

21 (A) it is not feasible to estimate with suffi22 cient accuracy the magnitude of the radiation 

23 dose that the cohort received; and 


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1 (B) there is a reasonable likelihood that 

2 the radiation dose may have endangered the 

3 health of members of the cohort; 

4 (4) it is not feasible to estimate with sufficient 

5 accuracy the magnitude of radiation doses received 

6 by employees at facilities under the jurisdiction of 

7 the Department of Energy because— 

8 (A) many radiation exposures by employees 

9 were unmonitored or were not monitored ade10 quately over the lifetime of each facility, as 

11 demonstrated in 2004, when an individual em12 ployed during the 1950s agreed to be scanned 

13 under the former radiation worker program of 

14 the Department of Energy and was found to 

15 have a significant internal deposition of radi16 ation that had been undetected and unrecorded 

17 for longer than 50 years; 

18 (B) lung counters used for the detection 

19 and measurement of plutonium and americium 

20 in the lungs of the employees were not available 

21 at some facilities until the late 1960s, thus— 

22 (i) preventing the very insoluble oxide 

23 forms of plutonium from being detected; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) leading to a result in which a 

2 large number of employees experienced in3 halation exposures that went undetected 

4 and unmeasured; 

5 (C) exposure to neutron radiation was not 

6 monitored at some facilities until the late 

7 1950s, and most of the measurements taken at 

8 the facilities from the period beginning in the 

9 late 1950s and ending in 1970 have been found 

10 to be in error; 

11 (D) in some areas of the facilities, neutron 

12 doses were 2 to 10 times as great as the 

13 gamma doses received by employees, although 

14 only gamma doses were recorded; 

15 (E) the radiation exposures of many em16 ployees at certain facilities were not measured, 

17 and in some cases estimated doses were as18 signed, while some records for doses have been 

19 destroyed or lost; 

20 (F) as a result of the practices described 

21 in subparagraph (E), the available exposure his22 tories and other data are not adequate to prop23 erly determine whether employees qualify for 

24 compensation under the Act (42 U.S.C. 7384 et 

25 seq.); and 


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1 (G) the model that has been used for dose 

2 reconstruction by the National Institute for Oc3 cupational Safety and Health in determining 

4 whether certain workers qualify for compensa5 tion under the Act (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) 

6 contains errors because— 

7 (i) the default values used for particle 

8 size and solubility of internally deposited 

9 plutonium in employees are in error; and 

10 (ii) the use of those erroneous default 

11 values to calculate internal doses for claim12 ants can result in dose calculations that 

13 may be 3 to 10 times below the calcula14 tions as indicated by the example of the 

15 records and autopsy data of the Rocky 

16 Flats Environmental Technology Site of 

17 the Department of Energy; 

18 (5) the administrative costs arising from claims 

19 have been disproportionately high relative to the 

20 number of claims that have been approved; 

21 (6) many employees, despite working with tons 

22 of plutonium and having known exposures that have 

23 lead to serious health effects, have been denied com24 pensation under the Act (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) as 

25 a result of— 


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1 (A) potentially flawed calculations based 

2 on records that are incomplete or in error; and 

3 (B) the use of incorrect models; 

4 (7) the purposes of the Act (42 U.S.C. 7384 et 

5 seq.) are more likely to be achieved if claims by the 

6 employees described in this subsection are subject to 

7 administrative procedures applicable to members of 

8 the special exposure cohort; 

9 (8) Charlie Wolf, an employee at the nuclear 

10 weapons facilities of the Savannah River Site, the 

11 Fernald Site, and the Rocky Flats Environmental 

12 Technology Site of the Department of Energy, died 

13 in 2009 from complications due to glioblastoma mul14 tiform brain tumors; 

15 (9) the difficulties of Mr. Wolf in securing com16 pensation for the illness that he likely incurred from 

17 exposures to toxic and radioactive materials at the 

18 nuclear weapons facilities described in paragraph (8) 

19 reinforce the need to ensure that the Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 7384 et seq.) will be carried out more efficiently and 

21 humanely for employees similar to Mr. Wolf; 

22 (10) Mr. Wolf’s first tumor was discovered 

23 after he had worked for several years at the Rocky 

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1 rector of buildings numbered 771 (which was once 

2 considered the most dangerous nuclear facility in the 

3 United States), 774, and 779, 3 facilities at which 

4 toxic and radioactive materials were present and 

5 handled by employees; 

6 (11) prior to working at the Rocky Flats Envi7 ronmental Technology Site of the Department of 

8 Energy, Mr. Wolf ran plutonium metal production 

9 lines at the Savannah River Site of the Department 

10 of Energy; 

11 (12) Mr. Wolf and his family spent almost 7 

12 years of their lives seeking compensation under the 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) although, due to the 

14 requirements of the Act (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) 

15 and the manner by which the regulations and proce16 dures were carried out, the claims of Mr. Wolf were 

17 subjected to lengthy and repeated delays and com18 plications that resulted from the difficulties associ19 ated with establishing the reconstruction of radiation 

20 doses; 

21 (13) as a result of the experiences of Mr. Wolf, 

22 and many others like him, there is a need to reform 

23 the Act (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.), and the program 

24 carried out in accordance with the Act (42 U.S.C. 


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1 7384 et seq.), to improve the processing of claims; 

2 and 

3 (14) the reforms established through the 

4 amendments made by this Act broaden the list of 

5 specified cancers, broaden the membership of the 

6 special exposure cohort, and change the presumption 

7 of cancer due to work-related exposures to help 

8 streamline the claims process and help workers like 

9 Mr. Wolf and their survivors. 

10 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to amend 

11 the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation 

12 Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) to improve 

13 the processing of claims for work-related illnesses at facili14 ties under the jurisdiction of the Department of Energy. 

15 SEC. 3. SPECIFIED DISEASE. 

16 Section 4(b)(2) of the Radiation Exposure Com17 pensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note; Public Law 101– 

18 426) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘(other than chronic 

20 lymphocytic leukemia)’’ and inserting ‘‘(including 

21 chronic lymphocytic leukemia)’’; 

22 (2) by inserting ‘‘posterior subcapsular cata23 racts, nonmalignant thyroid nodular disease, para24 thyroid adenoma, malignant tumors of the brain and 

25 central nervous system, brochio-alveolar carcinoma, 


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1 benign neoplasms of the brain and central nervous 

2 system,’’ after ‘‘disease),’’; and 

3 (3) by striking ‘‘or lung’’ and inserting ‘‘lung, 

4 skin, kidney, salivary gland, rectum, pharynx, or 

5 prostate’’. 

6 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS FOR PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. 

7 (a) ATOMIC WEAPONS EMPLOYEE.—Section 

8 3621(3)(A) of the Energy Employees Occupational Com9 pensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l(3)(A)) 

10 is amended by inserting ‘‘, or an individual employed by 

11 a contractor or subcontractor of an atomic weapons em12 ployer,’’ after ‘‘atomic weapons employer’’. 

13 (b) ESTABLISHED CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE.— 

14 Section 3621 of the Energy Employees Occupational Com15 pensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l) is 

16 amended by striking paragraph (13) and inserting the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(13) ESTABLISHED CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DIS19 EASE.—The term ‘established chronic beryllium dis20 ease’ means chronic beryllium disease, as established 

21 by— 

22 ‘‘(A) an occupational or environmental his23 tory, or epidemiological evidence of beryllium 

24 exposure; and 

25 ‘‘(B) any 3 of the following criteria: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Characteristic chest radiographic 

2 (or computed tomography) abnormalities. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Restrictive or obstructive lung 

4 physiology testing or a diffusing lung ca5 pacity defect. 

6 ‘‘(iii) Lung pathology consistent with 

7 chronic beryllium disease. 

8 ‘‘(iv) A clinical course consistent with 

9 a chronic respiratory disorder. 

10 ‘‘(v) An immunologic test dem11 onstrating beryllium sensitivity (with pref12 erence given to a skin patch test or a be13 ryllium blood test).’’. 

14 (c) MEMBER OF SPECIAL EXPOSURE COHORT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3621(14) of the En16 ergy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation 

17 Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l(14)) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(D) The employee— 

20 ‘‘(i) is not covered under subpara21 graph (A), (B), or (C); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) was employed by the Department 

23 of Energy, or a contractor or subcontractor 

24 of the Department of Energy, before Janu25 ary 1, 2006.’’. 


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1 (2) REAPPLICATION.—A claim for which an in2 dividual qualifies, by reason of paragraph (14)(D) of 

3 section 3621 of the Energy Employees Occupational 

4 Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 

5 U.S.C. 7384l) (as added by paragraph (1)), for com6 pensation or benefits under that Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 7384 et seq.) shall be considered for compensation 

8 or benefits notwithstanding any denial of any other 

9 claim for compensation with respect to the indi10 vidual. 

11 (d) SPECIFIED CANCERS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3621(17) of the En13 ergy Employees Occupational Compensation Pro14 gram Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l(17)) is amend15 ed— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

17 ‘‘(other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia)’’; 

18 and 

19 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(E) Basal cell carcinoma. 

21 ‘‘(F) Skin cancer.’’. 

22 (2) REAPPLICATION.—A claim for which an in23 dividual qualifies, by reason of subparagraph (E) or 

24 (F) of paragraph (17) of section 3621 of the Energy 

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1 gram Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l) (as added by 

2 paragraph (1)), for compensation or benefits under 

3 that Act (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) shall be consid4 ered for compensation or benefits notwithstanding 

5 any denial of any other claim for compensation with 

6 respect to the individual. 

7 SEC. 5. CHANGE IN PRESUMPTION FOR FINDING OF CAN8 CER. 

9 Section 3623(b) of the Energy Employees Occupa10 tional Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

11 7384n(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘if, and only if, the can12 cer specified in that subclause was at least as likely as 

13 not related to’’ and inserting ‘‘, unless it is determined, 

14 by clear and convincing evidence, that such cancer was 

15 not sustained as a result of’’. 

16 SEC. 6. DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION TO CLAIMANTS 

17 AND POTENTIAL CLAIMANTS. 

18 (a) INDEPENDENT PHYSICIANS FOR PERFORMANCE

19 OF MEDICAL AND IMPAIRMENT SCREENINGS.—Section 

20 3631(b)(2) of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness 

21 Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

22 7384v(b)(2)) is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

24 and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub2 paragraph (C); and 

3 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(B) lists that contain descriptions of phy6 sicians who are— 

7 ‘‘(i) qualified to perform medical and 

8 impairment screenings on matters relating 

9 to the compensation program; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) identified for purposes of this 

11 subparagraph by 1 or more independent 

12 medical associations, institutions of higher 

13 education, or both that are selected by the 

14 President for purposes of this subpara15 graph; and’’. 

16 (b) NOTICE OF AVAILABLE BENEFITS.—Section 

17 3631 of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Com18 pensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384v) (as 

19 amended by subsection (a)) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) NOTICE TO CLAIMANTS REGARDING AVAILABLE

22 BENEFITS.—The President shall provide to an individual 

23 who files a claim for compensation under this subtitle or 

24 subtitle E a written notice that contains a description of 


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1 the benefits for which the individual may be eligible under 

2 this Act.’’. 

3 SEC. 7. ENHANCEMENT OF SITE PROFILES OF DEPART4 MENT OF ENERGY FACILITIES. 

5 (a) INCLUSION OF TRADE NAMES OF CHEMICALS IN

6 SITE PROFILES.—Section 3633 of the Energy Employees 

7 Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 

8 (42 U.S.C. 7384w–1) is amended by striking subsection 

9 (c) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION OF SITE PROFILE.—In this section, 

11 the term ‘site profile’ means an exposure assessment of 

12 a facility that— 

13 ‘‘(1) identifies the toxic substances or processes 

14 that were commonly used in each building or process 

15 of the facility, and the time frame during which the 

16 potential for exposure to toxic substances existed; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(2) includes the trade name (if any) of any 

19 substance described in paragraph (1).’’. 

20 (b) PUBLIC ACCESS TO SITE PROFILES AND RE21 LATED INFORMATION.—Section 3633 of the Energy Em22 ployees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act 

23 of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384w–1) (as amended by subsection 

24 (a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC ACCESS TO SITE PROFILES AND RE2 LATED INFORMATION.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

3 make available to the public— 

4 ‘‘(1) each site profile prepared under subsection 

5 (a); 

6 ‘‘(2) any other database used by the Secretary 

7 of Energy to evaluate claims for compensation under 

8 this Act; and 

9 ‘‘(3) statistical data regarding the number of 

10 claims filed, the illnesses claimed, the number of 

11 claims filed for each illness, the number of claimants 

12 receiving compensation, and the length of time re13 quired to process each claim, as measured from the 

14 date on which the claim is filed to the final disposi15 tion of the claim.’’. 

16 SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF COVERED ILLNESSES. 

17 (a) DEFINITION OF COVERED ILLNESS.—Section 

18 3671 of the Energy Employees Occupational Compensa19 tion Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7385s) is amended 

20 by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) COVERED ILLNESS.—The term ‘covered ill22 ness’ means an illness or death resulting from expo23 sure to a toxic substance, including— 

24 ‘‘(A) all forms of cancer; 

25 ‘‘(B) silicosis; 


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1 ‘‘(C) asbestosis; 

2 ‘‘(D) mesothelioma; 

3 ‘‘(E) lung fibrosis; 

4 ‘‘(F) chronic obstructive pulmonary dis5 ease; 

6 ‘‘(G) chronic renal insufficiency; 

7 ‘‘(H) peripheral neuropathy; 

8 ‘‘(I) chronic encepathalopathy; 

9 ‘‘(J) occupational asthma; and 

10 ‘‘(K) pneumoconiosis.’’. 

11 (b) REAPPLICATION.—A claim for which an indi12 vidual qualifies, by reason of section 3671(2) of the En13 ergy Employees Occupational Compensation Program Act 

14 of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7385s(2)) (as amended by subsection 

15 (a)), for compensation or benefits under that Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) shall be considered for compensation 

17 or benefits notwithstanding any denial of any other claim 

18 for compensation with respect to the individual. 

19 SEC. 9. PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION TO SURVIVORS AND 

20 ESTATES OF CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES. 

21 Section 3672 of the Energy Employees Occupational 

22 Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

23 7385s–1) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘SEC. 3672. COMPENSATION. 

25 ‘‘(a) CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES; SURVIVORS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with 

3 section 3673, a covered contractor employee of 

4 the Department of Energy shall receive con5 tractor employee compensation under this sub6 title. 

7 ‘‘(B) COMPENSATION AFTER DEATH OF

8 CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEE.—Except as provided 

9 in paragraph (2)(B), if the death of a con10 tractor employee described in subparagraph (A) 

11 occurs after the date on which the contractor 

12 employee applies for compensation under this 

13 subtitle, but before the date on which such com14 pensation is paid, the amount of compensation 

15 that the contractor employee would have re16 ceived under this paragraph shall be paid to— 

17 ‘‘(i) a survivor of the contractor em18 ployee in accordance with section 3674; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) if, as of the date of the death of 

20 the contractor employee, no survivor of the 

21 contractor employee exists, the estate of 

22 the contractor employee. 

23 ‘‘(2) SURVIVORS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

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1 tractor employee of the Department of Energy 

2 shall receive contractor employee compensation 

3 under this subtitle in accordance with section 

4 3674. 

5 ‘‘(B) ELECTION OF CONTRACTOR EM6 PLOYEE COMPENSATION OR SURVIVOR COM7 PENSATION.—A survivor of a contractor em8 ployee described in subparagraph (A) who is 

9 otherwise eligible to receive compensation pur10 suant to subparagraph (A) and paragraph 

11 (1)(B) shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) receive compensation pursuant to 

13 subparagraph (A) or paragraph (1)(B), as 

14 elected by the survivor of the contractor 

15 employee; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) not receive compensation pursu17 ant to both subparagraph (A) and para18 graph (1)(B). 

19 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) is subject to 

20 each other provision of this subtitle.’’. 

21 SEC. 10. WAGE LOSS RESULTING FROM EXPOSURE. 

22 Section 3673(a)(2)(A)(i) of the Energy Employees 

23 Occupational Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 

24 U.S.C. 7385s–2(a)(2)(A)(i)) is amended by inserting 


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1 ‘‘that contributed to the wage loss of the employee’’ after 

2 ‘‘that employee’’. 

3 SEC. 11. EXPANSION OF TOXIC SUBSTANCE EXPOSURE FOR 

4 COVERED ILLNESSES. 

5 Section 3675(c)(1) of the Energy Employees Occupa6 tional Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

7 7385s–4(c)(1)) is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘(includ9 ing radiation or a combination of a toxic substance, 

10 including heavy metals, and radiation)’’ after ‘‘toxic 

11 substance’’; and 

12 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘(includ13 ing radiation or a combination of a toxic substance 

14 and radiation)’’ after ‘‘toxic substance’’. 

15 SEC. 12. EXTENSION OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR JU16 DICIAL REVIEW OF CONTRACTOR EMPLOYEE 

17 CLAIMS. 

18 Section 3677(a) of the Energy Employees Occupa19 tional Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 

20 U.S.C. 7385s–6(a)) is amended, in the first sentence, by 

21 striking ‘‘within 60 days’’ and inserting ‘‘not later than 

22 1 year’’. 


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1 SEC. 13. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY OF OMBUDSMAN OF 

2 ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILL3 NESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM. 

4 Section 3686 of the Energy Employees Occupational 

5 Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

6 7385s–15) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) assist individuals in making claims under 

11 this subtitle and subtitle B; 

12 ‘‘(2) provide information regarding— 

13 ‘‘(A) the benefits available under this sub14 title and subtitle B; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the requirements and procedures ap16 plicable to the provision of the benefits de17 scribed in subparagraph (A); 

18 ‘‘(3) function as an advocate on behalf of indi19 viduals seeking benefits under this subtitle and sub20 title B; 

21 ‘‘(4) make recommendations to the Secretary 

22 regarding the location of centers (to be known as 

23 ‘resource centers’) for the acceptance and develop24 ment of claims for benefits under this subtitle and 

25 subtitle B; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) carry out such other duties as the Sec2 retary may require.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘and subtitle 

4 B’’ after ‘‘this subtitle’’; 

5 (3) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘and subtitle 

6 B’’ after ‘‘this subtitle’’ each place it appears; and 

7 (4) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(g) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Ombudsman may 

10 enter into 1 or more service contracts with individuals who 

11 possess expertise in any matter that the Ombudsman con12 siders appropriate for the performance of the duties of the 

13 Office, including matters relating to health physics, medi14 cine, industrial hygiene, and toxicology.’’. 

15 SEC. 14. PAYMENT FOR TRANSPORTATION AND PERSONAL 

16 CARE SERVICES. 

17 (a) DEFINITION OF COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—In this 

18 section, the term ‘‘covered individual’’ means an individual 

19 who receives medical benefits under section 3629(a) of the 

20 Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation 

21 Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384t(a)). 

22 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall 

24 promulgate regulations to provide for the direct payment 

25 to providers of the costs to covered individuals of— 


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1 (1) personal care services (as that term is used 

2 in section 30.403 of title 20, Code of Federal Regu3 lations (as in effect on the day before the date of en4 actment of this Act)) authorized pursuant to section 

5 3629 of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness 

6 Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

7 7384t); and 

8 (2) necessary and reasonable transportation ex9 penses incident to securing medical services, appli10 ances, or supplies pursuant to section 3629(c) of the 

11 Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensa12 tion Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384t(c)). 

13 SEC. 15. ENHANCEMENT OF TRANSPARENCY IN CLAIMS 

14 PROCESS. 

15 (a) INFORMATION PROVIDED ON DENIAL OF CLAIM; 

16 REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CORRESPONDENCE.—Not 

17 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

18 the President shall promulgate regulations to ensure 

19 that— 

20 (1) any notification to an individual making a 

21 claim under the Energy Employees Occupational Ill22 ness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

23 7384 et seq.) that the claim of the individual has 

24 been denied, and all other correspondence with the 

25 individual relating to the claim, are written in lanVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:51 Apr 02, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828

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1 guage that is clear, concise, and easily understand2 able; and 

3 (2) any notification described in paragraph (1) 

4 contains— 

5 (A) an explanation of each reason for the 

6 denial of the claim described in that paragraph; 

7 and 

8 (B) a description of the information, if 

9 any, that the individual could have submitted 

10 that could have resulted in approval of the 

11 claim. 

12 (b) DOCUMENT RETENTION.—Not later than 90 days 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

14 Labor and the Secretary of Energy shall jointly promul15 gate regulations to ensure that the Department of Labor 

16 and the Department of Energy— 

17 (1) retain each original document in the posses18 sion of the Department of Labor or the Department 

19 of Energy relating to a facility under the jurisdiction 

20 of the Department of Energy if— 

21 (A) any employee of the facility might rea22 sonably be expected to file a claim for com23 pensation under the Energy Employees Occupa24 tional Illness Compensation Program Act of 

25 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.); and 


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•HR 1828 IH

1 (B) the document might reasonably be ex2 pected to be used by any employee described in 

3 subparagraph (A) in making a claim for com4 pensation under the Energy Employees Occupa5 tional Illness Compensation Program Act of 

6 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.); and 

7 (2) provide each employee described in para8 graph (1)(A) with access to each document described 

9 in that paragraph. 

10 SEC. 16. EXTENSION OF TIME FOR CLAIMANTS TO RE11 SPOND TO REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION. 

12 If the Secretary of Labor submits to an individual 

13 who has filed a claim for compensation under the Energy 

14 Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program 

15 Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384 et seq.) a request for infor16 mation that relates to the claim for compensation, the in17 dividual shall be required to respond to the request by not 

18 earlier than 120 days after the date on which the indi19 vidual receives the request. 

Æ 


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