II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 342 

To provide supplemental ex gratia compensation to the Republic of the Marshall Islands for impacts of the nuclear testing program of the United 

States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2011 

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) (by request) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide supplemental ex gratia compensation to the Republic of the Marshall Islands for impacts of the nuclear 

testing program of the United States, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Republic of the Mar5 shall Islands Supplemental Nuclear Compensation Act of 

6 2011’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. CONTINUED MONITORING ON RUNIT ISLAND. 

2 Section 103(f)(1) of the Compact of Free Association 

3 Amendments Act of 2003 (48 U.S.C. 1921b(f)(1)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and insert6 ing the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(B) CONTINUED MONITORING ON RUNIT

11 ISLAND.— 

12 ‘‘(i) CACTUS CRATER CONTAINMENT

13 AND GROUNDWATER MONITORING.—Effec14 tive beginning January 1, 2008, the Sec15 retary of Energy shall, as a part of the 

16 Marshall Islands program conducted under 

17 subparagraph (A), periodically (but not 

18 less frequently than every 4 years) con19 duct— 

20 ‘‘(I) a visual study of the con21 crete exterior of the Cactus Crater 

22 containment structure on Runit Is23 land; and 

24 ‘‘(II) a radiochemical analysis of 

25 the groundwater surrounding and in 

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1 the Cactus Crater containment struc2 ture on Runit Island. 

3 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.—The Secretary shall 

4 submit to the Committee on Energy and 

5 Natural Resources of the Senate, and the 

6 Committee on Natural Resources of the 

7 House of Representatives, a report that 

8 contains— 

9 ‘‘(I) a description of— 

10 ‘‘(aa) the results of each vis11 ual survey conducted under 

12 clause (i)(I); and 

13 ‘‘(bb) the results of the 

14 radiochemical analysis conducted 

15 under clause (i)(II); and 

16 ‘‘(II) a determination on whether 

17 the surveys and analyses indicate any 

18 significant change in the health risks 

19 to the people of Enewetak from the 

20 contaminants within the Cactus Cra21 ter containment structure. 

22 ‘‘(iii) FUNDING FOR GROUNDWATER

23 MONITORING.—The Secretary of the Inte24 rior shall make available to the Depart25 ment of Energy, Marshall Islands Promstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 gram, from funds available for the Tech2 nical Assistance Program of the Office of 

3 Insular Affairs, the amounts necessary to 

4 conduct the radiochemical analysis of 

5 groundwater under clause(i)(II).’’. 

6 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY UNDER ENERGY 

7 EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COM8 PENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS FOR PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.— 

10 Section 3621 of the Energy Employees Occupational Ill11 ness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

12 7384l) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(18) The terms ‘covered employee’, ‘atomic 

14 weapons employee’, and ‘Department of Energy con15 tractor employee’ (as defined in paragraphs (1), (3), 

16 and (11), respectively) include a citizen or national 

17 of the Republic of the Marshall Islands or the Fed18 erated States of Micronesia who is otherwise covered 

19 by that paragraph.’’. 

20 (b) DEFINITION OF COVERED DOE CONTRACTOR

21 EMPLOYEE.—Section 3671(1) of the Energy Employees 

22 Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 

23 (42 U.S.C. 7385s(1)) is amended by inserting before the 

24 period at the end the following: ‘‘, including a citizen or 

25 national of the Republic of the Marshall Islands or the 

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1 Federated States of Micronesia who is otherwise covered 

2 by this paragraph’’. 

3 (c) OFFSET OF BENEFITS WITH RESPECT TO THE

4 COMPACT OF FREE ASSOCIATION.—Subtitle C of the En5 ergy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Pro6 gram Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7385 et seq.) is amended 

7 by inserting after section 3653 (42 U.S.C. 7385j–2) the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 3654. OFFSET OF BENEFITS WITH RESPECT TO THE 

10 COMPACT OF FREE ASSOCIATION. 

11 ‘‘An individual who has been awarded compensation 

12 under this title, and who has also received compensation 

13 benefits under the Compact of Free Association between 

14 the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Is15 lands (48 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) (referred to in this section 

16 as the ‘Compact of Free Association’), by reason of the 

17 same illness, shall receive the compensation awarded 

18 under this title reduced by the amount of any compensa19 tion benefits received under the Compact of Free Associa20 tion, other than medical benefits and benefits for voca21 tional rehabilitation that the individual received by reason 

22 of the illness, after deducting the reasonable costs (as de23 termined by the Secretary) of obtaining those benefits 

24 under the Compact of Free Association.’’. 

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1 SEC. 4. SUPPLEMENTAL HEALTH CARE GRANT. 

2 Section 103(h) of the Compact of Free Association 

3 Amendments Act of 2003 (48 U.S.C. 1921b(h)) is amend4 ed by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) SUPPLEMENTAL HEALTH CARE GRANT.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to 

7 amounts provided under section 211 of the 

8 U.S.–RMI Compact (48 U.S.C. 1921 note), the 

9 Secretary of the Interior shall provide to the 

10 Republic of the Marshall Islands an annual sup11 plemental health care grant in the amount 

12 made available under subparagraph (D)— 

13 ‘‘(i)(I) to provide enhanced primary 

14 health care, with an emphasis on providing 

15 regular screenings for radiogenic illnesses 

16 by upgrading existing services or by pro17 viding quarterly medical field team visits, 

18 as appropriate, in each of Enewetak, Bi19 kini, Rongelap, Utrik, Ailuk, Mejit, Likiep, 

20 Wotho, Wotje, and Ujelang Atolls, which 

21 were affected by the nuclear testing pro22 gram of the United States; and 

23 ‘‘(II) to enhance the capabilities of the 

24 Marshall Islands to provide secondary 

25 treatment for radiogenic illness; and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) to construct and operate a whole2 body counting facility on Utrik Atoll. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONDITIONS ON HEALTH CARE

4 GRANTS.—To ensure the effective use of grants 

5 funds under clause (i) of subparagraph (A), the 

6 Secretary of the Interior, after consultation 

7 with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, may 

8 establish additional conditions on the provision 

9 of grants under that clause. 

10 ‘‘(C) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—To 

11 meet the objectives of clause (ii) of subpara12 graph (A), the Secretary of the Interior, the 

13 Secretary of Energy, and the Government of 

14 the Republic of the Marshall Islands shall enter 

15 into a memorandum of agreement setting forth 

16 the terms, conditions, and respective respon17 sibilities of the parties to the memorandum of 

18 agreement in carrying out that clause. 

19 ‘‘(D) FUNDING.—As authorized by section 

20 105(c), there is appropriated to the Secretary 

21 of the Interior, out of funds in the Treasury not 

22 otherwise appropriated, to carry out this para23 graph $4,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 

24 through 2023, as adjusted for inflation in acmstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 cordance with section 218 of the U.S.–RMI 

2 Compact, to remain available until expended.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF THE 

4 MARSHALL ISLANDS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

6 enter into an agreement with the National Academy of 

7 Sciences under which the National Academy of Sciences 

8 shall conduct an assessment of the health impacts of the 

9 United States nuclear testing program conducted in the 

10 Republic of the Marshall Islands on the residents of the 

11 Republic of the Marshall Islands. 

12 (b) REPORT.—On completion of the assessment 

13 under subsection (a), the National Academy of Sciences 

14 shall submit to Congress, the Secretary, the Committee 

15 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, and the 

16 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep17 resentatives, a report on the results of the assessment. 

18 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec20 essary to carry out this section. 

Æ 

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