I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2463

To provide for payments to individuals who were the subjects of radiation

experiments conducted by the Federal Government.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 11, 1995

Mr. FROST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on the Judiciary

A BILL

To provide for payments to individuals who were the subjects

of radiation experiments conducted by the Federal Government.

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 ‘‘Radiation Experimen5 tation Compensation Act of 1995’’.

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

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) since the 1940’s, the Federal Government

9 has intentionally conducted secret radiation experi10 ments in the United States without the informed
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1 consent or knowledge of the individuals on whom the

2 experiments were performed;

3 (2) such radiation experiments included eight4 een subjects of plutonium injection experiments, the

5 subject of a zirconium injection experiment, and sev6 eral subjects of total body irradiation experiments

7 conducted during World War II;

8 (3) the Federal Government performed such ex9 periments not in order to achieve medical or health

10 benefits for the individuals used in the tests, but for

11 research purposes, to allow Federal Government sci12 entists and health specialists to study the effects of

13 radiation on the human body;

14 (4) at the time of such experiments and in the

15 years following the experiments, the Federal Govern16 ment failed to inform the individuals tested, or their

17 families, about the nature and effects of the tests;

18 (5) the Federal Government has harmed the

19 subjects of such radiation experiments;

20 (6) the Congress presumes that the exposure to

21 radiation of the subjects of such experiments has

22 generated an excess of cancers and other debilitating

23 diseases and health problems for such subjects;

24 (7) the Federal Government should recognize

25 that the lives and health of the innocent individuals
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1 who were the subjects of such experiments were put

2 at risk by the individuals’ unknowing and involun3 tary participation in radiation experiments; and

4 (8) the Federal Government should assume re5 sponsibility for the harm caused by its actions re6 garding the experiments.

7 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to estab8 lish a procedure to make partial restitution to the individ9 uals described in subsection (a) for the burdens they have

10 borne for the Nation as a whole, although monetary com11 pensation can never fully compensate them.

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

13 the Nation to the individuals described in subsection (a)

14 and their families for the hardships they have endured be15 cause of the experiments described in subsection (a).

16 SEC. 3. TRUST FUND.

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

18 Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known

19 as the ‘‘Radiation Experimentation Compensation Trust

20 Fund’’ (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’), which shall

21 be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury.

22 (b) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS IN FUND.—Amounts

23 in the Fund shall be invested in accordance with section

24 9702 of title 31, United States Code, and any interest on,
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1 and proceeds from, any such investment shall be credited

2 to and become a part of the Fund.

3 (c) AVAILABILITY OF FUND.—Amounts in the Fund

4 shall be available only for disbursement by the Attorney

5 General under section 5.

6 (d) TERMINATION.—

7 (1) TIME OF TERMINATION.—The Fund shall

8 terminate not later than the earlier of—

9 (A) the date on which the amount author10 ized to be appropriated to the Fund by sub11 section (e), and any income earned on such

12 amount, have been expended from the Fund; or

13 (B) 22 years after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act.

15 (2) AMOUNTS REMAINING IN FUND.—At the

16 end of the 22-year period referred to in paragraph

17 (1)(B), if all of the amounts in the Fund have not

18 been expended, investments of amounts in the Fund

19 shall be liquidated, the receipts of such liquidation

20 shall be deposited in the Fund, and all funds re21 maining in the Fund shall be deposited in the mis22 cellaneous receipts account in the Treasury.

23 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $2,500,000.
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1 Any amount appropriated pursuant to this subsection is

2 authorized to remain available until expended.

3 SEC. 4. CLAIMS ELIGIBLE FOR PAYMENT.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any individual who, without the

5 individual’s informed consent, was intentionally injected

6 with plutonium or zirconium, or exposed to total body ra7 diation, as a subject in an experiment of the Federal Gov8 ernment at any time during the period beginning on Janu9 ary 1, 1940, and ending on December 31, 1974, shall re10 ceive $50,000 if—

11 (1) a claim for such payment is filed with the

12 Attorney General by or on behalf of such individual;

13 and

14 (2) the Attorney General determines, in accord15 ance with section 5(b), that the claim meets the re16 quirements of this Act.

17 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

18 (1) The term ‘‘experiment’’ means a test or

19 other action that is conducted primarily for research

20 purposes to determine the effect of exposure to radi21 ation on the human body.

22 (2) The term ‘‘Federal Government’’ means—

23 (A) the legislative, judicial, or executive

24 branch of the government of the United States,
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1 or any agency or instrumentality of such a

2 branch;

3 (B) any person or entity whose actions re4 garding an experiment under which humans

5 were injected with plutonium or zirconium, or

6 exposed to total body radiation, were funded in

7 any manner, approved, authorized, supervised,

8 or contracted for, by an entity referred to in

9 subparagraph (A); or

10 (C) any person or entity that was funded

11 in any manner, approved, authorized, super12 vised, or contracted with, wholly or partially, by

13 an entity referred to in subparagraph (A) dur14 ing a time period in which an entity referred to

15 in subparagraph (A) had knowledge that such

16 person or entity was conducting any experiment

17 under which humans were injected with pluto18 nium or zirconium, or exposed to total body ra19 diation.

20 (3) The term ‘‘informed consent’’ means con21 sent by an individual (or the individual’s parent or

22 legal guardian, in the case of an individual who was

23 a minor or was incompetent at the relevant time), to

24 the individual’s participation in an experiment, after

25 a full disclosure of the nature and purpose of the ex-
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1 periment and its possible consequences that was suf2 ficient to allow the individual (or the individual’s

3 parent or legal guardian, in the case of an individual

4 who was a minor or was incompetent at the relevant

5 time) to intelligently exercise judgment to decide

6 whether the individual should participate in the ex7 periment.

8 SEC. 5. DETERMINATION AND PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FILING PROCEDURES.—The

10 Attorney General shall establish procedures under which

11 individuals may submit claims for payments under this

12 Act.

13 (b) DETERMINATION OF CLAIMS.—For each claim

14 filed under this Act, the Attorney General shall determine

15 whether the claim meets the requirements of section 4(a).

16 (c) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.—

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

18 pay, from amounts available in the Fund, each claim

19 that the Attorney General determines meets the re20 quirements of this Act.

21 (2) OFFSET OF PAYMENT.—

22 (A) OFFSET OF PAYMENT MADE UNDER

23 THIS ACT.—A payment under this Act to or on

24 behalf of an individual described in section 4(a)

25 shall be offset by the amount of any payment
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1 made to or on behalf of the individual pursuant

2 to a final award or settlement on a claim (other

3 than a claim for worker’s compensation)

4 against any person, that is based on the individ5 ual’s participation in an experiment that is the

6 basis for the payment under this Act, including

7 any payment under the Radiation Exposure

8 Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note).

9 (B) OFFSET OF PAYMENT MADE UNDER

10 RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT.—

11 For purposes of section 6(c)(2) of the Radiation

12 Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210

13 note), a payment made under this Act shall be

14 considered to be a final award or settlement on

15 a claim described in subparagraphs (A) and (B)

16 of such section.

17 (3) RIGHT OF SUBROGATION.—Upon payment

18 of a claim under this section, the Federal Govern19 ment is subrogated, for the amount of the payment,

20 to any right or claim that the individual to whom

21 the payment was made may have against any person

22 on account of participation in an experiment that is

23 the basis for the payment made under this Act.

24 (4) PAYMENTS IN CASE OF DECEASED PER25 SONS.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an indi2 vidual who is deceased at the time of payment

3 under this section, such payment may be made

4 only as follows:

5 (i) If the individual is survived by a

6 spouse who is living at the time of pay7 ment, such payment shall be made to such

8 surviving spouse.

9 (ii) If the individual is not survived by

10 a spouse described in clause (i), such pay11 ment shall be made in equal shares to the

12 children of the individual who are living at

13 the time of payment.

14 (iii) If the individual is not survived

15 by a person described in clause (i) or (ii),

16 such payment shall be made in equal

17 shares to the parents of the individual who

18 are living at the time of payment.

19 (iv) If the individual is not survived

20 by a person described in any of clauses (i)

21 through (iii), such payment shall be made

22 in equal shares to the grandchildren of the

23 individual who are living at the time of

24 payment.
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1 (v) If the individual is not survived by

2 a person described in any of clauses (i)

3 through (iv), such payment shall be made

4 in equal shares to the siblings of the indi5 vidual who are living at the time of pay6 ment.

7 (vi) If the individual is not survived

8 by a person described in any of clauses (i)

9 through (v), then such payment shall be

10 made in equal shares to the grandparents

11 of the individual who are living at the time

12 of payment.

13 (B) FILING OF CLAIM BY SURVIVOR.—If

14 an individual eligible for payment under this

15 Act dies before filing a claim under this Act, a

16 survivor of the individual who may receive pay17 ment under subparagraph (A) may file a claim

18 for such payment on the individual’s behalf.

19 (C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this

20 paragraph:

21 (i) The term ‘‘child’’ includes a recog22 nized natural child, a stepchild who lived

23 with an individual in a regular parent-child

24 relationship, and an adopted child.
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1 (ii) The term ‘‘grandchild of the indi2 vidual’’ means a child of a child of the in3 dividual.

4 (iii) The term ‘‘grandparent of the in5 dividual’’ means a parent of a parent of

6 the individual.

7 (iv) The term ‘‘parent’’ includes fa8 thers and mothers through adoption.

9 (v) The term ‘‘sibling of the individ10 ual’’ means a child of the parent or par11 ents of the individual.

12 (vi) The term ‘‘spouse’’ means a per13 son who was married to the relevant indi14 vidual for at least the 12 months imme15 diately preceding the death of the individ16 ual.

17 (d) ACTION ON CLAIMS.—Within 18 months after the

18 filing of any claim under this Act—

19 (1) the Attorney General shall make the deter20 mination required by subsection (b) regarding the

21 claim; and

22 (2) if the claim is determined to meet the re23 quirements of section 4(a), the Attorney General

24 shall make the payment required by subsection

25 (c)(1).
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1 (e) SETTLEMENT IN FULL OF CLAIMS AGAINST

2 UNITED STATES.—Payment under this Act, when accept3 ed by an individual, or the individual’s survivors, shall be

4 in full satisfaction of all claims of or on behalf of the indi5 vidual against the United States that arise out of the par6 ticipation in the experiment that is the basis for the pay7 ment made under this Act.

8 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS NOT DEDUCTED FROM

9 PAYMENT.—No costs incurred by the Attorney General in

10 carrying out this Act may be paid from, set off against,

11 or otherwise deducted from any payment made under sub12 section (c)(1).

13 (g) TERMINATION OF DUTIES OF ATTORNEY GEN14 ERAL.—The duties of the Attorney General under this sec15 tion shall cease when the Fund terminates.

16 (h) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS UNDER OTHER

17 LAWS.—A payment under subsection (c)(1) to an individ18 ual—

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

20 revenue laws of the United States as damages for

21 human suffering; and

22 (2) shall not be considered as income or re23 sources for purposes of determining the individual’s

24 eligibility to receive benefits described in section
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1 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31, United States Code, or the

2 amount of such benefits.

3 (i) USE OF EXISTING RESOURCES.—The Attorney

4 General should, to the extent available, use funds and re5 sources available to the Attorney General to carry out the

6 Attorney General’s functions under this Act.

7 (j) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Attorney Gen8 eral may issue regulations necessary to carry out this Act.

9 (k) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS AND PROCE10 DURES.—The initial regulations and procedures to carry

11 out this Act shall be issued not later than 120 days after

12 the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 (l) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—An individual whose claim

14 for compensation under this Act is denied may seek initial

15 judicial review solely in a district court of the United

16 States. The court shall review the denial on the adminis17 trative record and shall hold unlawful and set aside the

18 denial if it is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion,

19 or otherwise not in accordance with law. Such an individ20 ual may appeal the decision of the district court to the

21 appropriate higher Federal courts.

22 SEC. 6. CLAIMS NOT ASSIGNABLE OR TRANSFERABLE.

23 No claim under this Act shall be assignable or trans24 ferable.
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1 SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON CLAIMS.

2 An individual, or the individual’s survivors, may not

3 receive payment under section 5(c)(1) unless a claim by

4 or on behalf of the individual is filed under this Act within

5 20 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

6 SEC. 8. ATTORNEY OR AGENT FEES.

7 The agent, attorney, or other representative of an in8 dividual or of an individual’s survivor may not receive, for

9 services rendered in connection with a claim made under

10 this Act, an amount equal to more than 10 percent of the

11 payment made under this Act on such claim. Any person

12 who violates this section shall be guilty of an infraction

13 and shall be subject to a fine in the amount provided in

14 title 18, United States Code.

15 SEC. 9. CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT AFFECTED BY PAYMENT.

16 A payment made under section 5(c)(1) shall not be

17 considered a form of compensation, or reimbursement for

18 a loss, for purposes of imposing liability on the individual

19 who receives the payment to repay any insurance carrier

20 for insurance payments, or to repay any person on account

21 of worker’s compensation payments. A payment under this

22 Act shall not affect any claim against an insurance carrier

23 with respect to insurance, or against any person with re24 spect to worker’s compensation.
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1 SEC. 10. BUDGET COMPLIANCE.

2 No authority under this Act to enter into contracts

3 or to make payments shall be effective in any fiscal year

4 except to such extent or in such amounts as are provided

5 in advance in appropriations Acts.

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