I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3743

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

experiments conducted by the Federal Government.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 26, 1994

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 1994’’.

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
2

•HR 3743 IH

1 consent or knowledge of the individuals on whom the

2 experiments were performed;

3 (2) such radiation experiments included, but

4 were not limited to, experiments involving injections

5 of plutonium, ingestion of irradiated food, exposure

6 to atmospheric radiation, and the prescription of ra7 dioactive medication to pregnant women;

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
3

•HR 3743 IH

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,
4

•HR 3743 IH

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

25 $100,000,000. Any amount appropriated pursuant to this
5

•HR 3743 IH

1 subsection is authorized to remain available until ex2 pended.

3 SEC. 4. CLAIMS ELIGIBLE FOR PAYMENT.

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

5 individual’s informed consent, was intentionally exposed to

6 radiation as a subject in an experiment of the Federal

7 Government at any time during the period beginning on

8 January 1, 1940, and ending on December 31, 1974, shall

9 receive $50,000 if—

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

11 Attorney General by or on behalf of such individual;

12 and

13 (2) the Attorney General determines, in accord14 ance with section 5(b), that the claim meets the re15 quirements of this Act.

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

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

18 other action that is conducted primarily for research

19 purposes to determine the effect of exposure to radi20 ation on the human body.

21 (2) The term ‘‘exposed to radiation’’ means

22 caused to come into contact with any radioactive

23 substance or material by means including, but not

24 limited to, injection, ingestion, inhalation, or pre-
6

•HR 3743 IH

1 scription of, or skin exposure to, any radioactive

2 substance or material.

3 (3) The term ‘‘Federal Government’’ means—

4 (A) the legislative, judicial, or executive

5 branch of the government of the United States,

6 or any agency or instrumentality of such a

7 branch;

8 (B) any person or entity whose actions re9 garding an experiment under which humans

10 were exposed to radiation were funded in any

11 manner, approved, authorized, supervised, or

12 contracted for, by an entity referred to in sub13 paragraph (A); or

14 (C) any person or entity that was funded

15 in any manner, approved, authorized, super16 vised, or contracted with, wholly or partially, by

17 an entity referred to in subparagraph (A) dur18 ing a time period in which an entity referred to

19 in subparagraph (A) had knowledge that such

20 person or entity was conducting any experiment

21 under which humans were exposed to radiation.

22 (4) The term ‘‘informed consent’’ means con23 sent by an individual (or the individual’s parent or

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

25 a minor or was incompetent at the relevant time), to
7

•HR 3743 IH

1 the individual’s participation in an experiment, after

2 a full disclosure of the nature and purpose of the ex3 periment and its possible consequences that was suf4 ficient to allow the individual (or the individual’s

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

6 who was a minor or was incompetent at the relevant

7 time) to intelligently exercise judgment to decide

8 whether the individual should participate in the ex9 periment.

10 SEC. 5. DETERMINATION AND PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FILING PROCEDURES.—The

12 Attorney General shall establish procedures under which

13 individuals may submit claims for payments under this

14 Act.

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

16 filed under this Act, the Attorney General shall determine

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

18 (c) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.—

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

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

21 that the Attorney General determines meets the re22 quirements of this Act.

23 (2) OFFSET OF PAYMENT.—

24 (A) OFFSET OF PAYMENT MADE UNDER

25 THIS ACT.—A payment under this Act to or on
8

•HR 3743 IH

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

2 shall be offset by the amount of any payment

3 made to or on behalf of the individual pursuant

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

5 than a claim for worker’s compensation)

6 against any person, that is based on the individ7 ual’s participation in an experiment that is the

8 basis for the payment under this Act, including

9 any payment under the Radiation Exposure

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

11 (B) OFFSET OF PAYMENT MADE UNDER

12 RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT.—

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

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

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

16 considered to be a final award or settlement on

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

18 of such section.

19 (3) RIGHT OF SUBROGATION.—Upon payment

20 of a claim under this section, the Federal Govern21 ment is subrogated, for the amount of the payment,

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

23 payment was made may have against any person on

24 account of participation in an experiment that is the

25 basis for the payment made under this Act.
9

•HR 3743 IH

1 (4) PAYMENTS IN CASE OF DECEASED PER2 SONS.—

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an indi4 vidual who is deceased at the time of payment

5 under this section, such payment may be made

6 only as follows:

7 (i) If the individual is survived by a

8 spouse who is living at the time of pay9 ment, such payment shall be made to such

10 surviving spouse.

11 (ii) If the individual is not survived by

12 a spouse described in clause (i), such pay13 ment shall be made in equal shares to the

14 children of the individual who are living at

15 the time of payment.

16 (iii) If the individual is not survived

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

18 such payment shall be made in equal

19 shares to the parents of the individual who

20 are living at the time of payment.

21 (iv) If the individual is not survived

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

23 through (iii), such payment shall be made

24 in equal shares to the grandchildren of the
10

•HR 3743 IH

1 individual who are living at the time of

2 payment.

3 (v) If the individual is not survived by

4 a person described in any of clauses (i)

5 through (iv), such payment shall be made

6 in equal shares to the siblings of the indi7 vidual who are living at the time of pay8 ment.

9 (vi) If the individual is not survived

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

11 through (v), then such payment shall be

12 made in equal shares to the grandparents

13 of the individual who are living at the time

14 of payment.

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

16 an individual eligible for payment under this

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

18 survivor of the individual who may receive pay19 ment under subparagraph (A) may file a claim

20 for such payment on the individual’s behalf.

21 (C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this

22 paragraph:

23 (i) The term ‘‘child’’ includes a recog24 nized natural child, a stepchild who lived
11

•HR 3743 IH

1 with an individual in a regular parent-child

2 relationship, and an adopted child.

3 (ii) The term ‘‘grandchild of the indi4 vidual’’ means a child of a child of the in5 dividual.

6 (iii) The term ‘‘grandparent of the in7 dividual’’ means a parent of a parent of

8 the individual.

9 (iv) The term ‘‘parent’’ includes fa10 thers and mothers through adoption.

11 (v) The term ‘‘sibling of the individ12 ual’’ means a child of the parent or par13 ents of the individual.

14 (vi) The term ‘‘spouse’’ means a per15 son who was married to the relevant indi16 vidual for at least the 12 months imme17 diately preceding the death of the individ18 ual.

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

20 filing of any claim under this Act—

21 (1) the Attorney General shall make the deter22 mination required by subsection (b) regarding the

23 claim; and

24 (2) if the claim is determined to meet the re25 quirements of section 4(a), the Attorney General
12

•HR 3743 IH

1 shall make the payment required by subsection

2 (c)(1).

3 (e) SETTLEMENT IN FULL OF CLAIMS AGAINST

4 UNITED STATES.—Payment under this Act, when accept5 ed by an individual, or the individual’s survivors, shall be

6 in full satisfaction of all claims of or on behalf of the indi7 vidual against the United States that arise out of the par8 ticipation in the experiment that is the basis for the pay9 ment made under this Act.

10 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS NOT DEDUCTED FROM

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

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

13 or otherwise deducted from any payment made under sub14 section (c)(1).

15 (g) TERMINATION OF DUTIES OF ATTORNEY GEN16 ERAL.—The duties of the Attorney General under this sec17 tion shall cease when the Fund terminates.

18 (h) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS UNDER OTHER

19 LAWS.—A payment under subsection (c)(1) to an individ20 ual—

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

22 revenue laws of the United States as damages for

23 human suffering; and

24 (2) shall not be considered as income or re25 sources for purposes of determining the individual’s
13

•HR 3743 IH

1 eligibility to receive benefits described in section

2 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31, United States Code, or the

3 amount of such benefits.

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

5 General should, to the extent available, use funds and re6 sources available to the Attorney General to carry out the

7 Attorney General’s functions under this Act.

8 (j) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Attorney Gen9 eral may issue regulations necessary to carry out this Act.

10 (k) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS AND PROCE11 DURES.—The initial regulations and procedures to carry

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

13 the date of the enactment of this Act.

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

15 for compensation under this Act is denied may seek initial

16 judicial review solely in a district court of the United

17 States. The court shall review the denial on the adminis18 trative record and shall hold unlawful and set aside the

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

20 or otherwise not in accordance with law. Such an individ21 ual may appeal the decision of the district court to the

22 appropriate higher Federal courts.

23 SEC. 6. CLAIMS NOT ASSIGNABLE OR TRANSFERABLE.

24 No claim under this Act shall be assignable or trans25 ferable.
14

•HR 3743 IH

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.
15

•HR 3743 IH

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.

Æ