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 Com-
mittee 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 jurisdic-
tion 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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Beryllium Exposure
Compensation Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSE, AND APOLOGY.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) hazards involved in the mining and process-
ing of beryllium and its compounds are presumed to
have caused injury, disease, and disability among
those who worked in the beryllium processing indus-
try;
(2) workers who were exposed to beryllium haz-
ards were subjected to increased risk of injury and
disease to serve the national security interests of the
United States; and
(3) the United States should recognize and as-
sume responsibility for the harm done to these work-
ers.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to estab-
lish a procedure to provide relief to the workers described
in subsection (a) for the burdens they have borne for the
Nation as a whole.
(c) APOLOGY.—The Congress apologizes on behalf of
the Nation to the workers described in subsection (a) and
their families for the hardships they have endured.
SEC. 3. TRUST FUND.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the
Treasury of the United States, a trust fund to be known
as the Beryllium Exposure Compensation Trust Fund,
which shall be administered by the Secretary of the Treas-
ury.
(b) INVESTMENT
OF AMOUNTS
IN
THE FUND.—
Amounts in the Fund shall be invested in accordance with
section 9702 of title 31, United States Code, and any in-
terest on, and proceeds from any such investment shall
be credited to the Fund.
(c) AVAILABILITY OF THE FUND.—Amounts in the
Fund shall be available only for disbursement by the At-
torney General under section 5.
(d) TERMINATION.—The Fund shall terminate 30
years after the date of the enactment of this Act. If all
of the amounts in the Fund have not been expended by
the end of that 30-year period, investments of amounts
in the Fund shall be liquidated and receipts thereof depos-
ited in the Fund and all funds remaining in the Fund shall
be deposited in the miscellaneous receipts account in the
Treasury.
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such sums
as may be necessary to carry out its purposes, which may
remain available until expended.
SEC. 4. CLAIMS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—A beryllium worker described in
subsection (b) shall receive $100,000 if—
(1) the claim for such payment is filed with the
Attorney General by or on behalf of such individual;
and
(2) the Attorney General determines, in accord-
ance with section 5, that the claim meets the re-
quirements for payment under this Act.
(b) ELIGIBLE BERYLLIUM WORKER.—A beryllium
worker described in this subsection is an individual who—
(1) at any time during the period beginning
January 1, 1930, and ending December 31, 1980,
was employed at a beryllium industry site;
(2) was exposed to significant beryllium hazards
in the course of such employment; and
(3) after such exposure developed a condition
known to be related to beryllium exposure.
(c) CONFORMITY
WITH
SECTION
5.—Payments
under this section may be made only in accordance with
section 5.
SEC. 5. DETERMINATION AND PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FILING PROCEDURES.—The
Attorney General shall establish procedures whereby
claims may be submitted under this Act.
(b) REQUIRED PROCEDURES.—The procedures es-
tablished pursuant to subsection (a) shall provide that a
claim meets the requirements for payment under this Act
only if the claim includes—
(1) adequate documentation that the individual
satisfies the requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2)
of section 4(b); and
(2) written medical documentation that the in-
dividual satisfies the requirements of paragraph (3)
of section 4(b).
(c) DETERMINATION OF CLAIMS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall
determine, in accordance with the guidelines estab-
lished pursuant to this subsection, whether each
claim filed under this Act meets the requirements
for payment under this Act.
(2) CONSULTATION ON GUIDELINES.—The At-
torney General shall establish guidelines in consulta-
tion with—
(A) the Secretary of Defense, the Sec-
retary of Energy, and the Secretary of Labor,
for determining what constitutes adequate doc-
umentation that an individual satisfies the re-
quirements of paragraph (1) of section 4(b);
(B) the Director of the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health, for deter-
mining what constitutes significant beryllium
hazards within the meaning of paragraph (2) of
section 4(b) and what constitutes adequate doc-
umentation that an individual satisfies the re-
quirements of such paragraph; and
(C) the Surgeon General, for determining
what constitutes written medical documentation
that an individual satisfies the requirements of
paragraph (3) of section 4(b).
(3) CONSULTATION
ON
DETERMINATIONS.—
The Attorney General may consult with—
(A) the Secretary of Defense, the Sec-
retary of Energy, and the Secretary of Labor in
making determinations pursuant to the guide-
lines established under paragraph (2)(A);
(B) the Director of the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health in making
determinations pursuant to the guidelines es-
tablished under paragraph (2)(B); and
(C) the Surgeon General in making deter-
minations pursuant to the guidelines established
under paragraph (2)(C).
(d) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 12, the
Attorney General shall pay, from amounts available
in the Fund, claims filed under this Act which the
Attorney General determines meet the requirements
for payment under this Act.
(2) OFFSET FOR CERTAIN PAYMENTS.—A pay-
ment under this Act to an individual, or to a sur-
vivor of that individual, on a claim under section 4
shall be offset by the amount of any payment made
pursuant to a final award or settlement on a claim
(other than a claim for worker’s compensation),
against any person, that is based on injuries in-
curred by that individual on account of exposure to
significant beryllium hazards at any time during the
period referred to in section 4(b)(1).
(3) RIGHT OF SUBROGATION.—Upon payment
of a claim under this Act, the United States Govern-
ment is subrogated for the amount of the payment
to a right or claim that the individual to whom the
payment was made may have against any person on
account of injuries referred to in paragraph (2).
(4) PAYMENTS
IN
THE
CASE
OF
DECEASED
PERSONS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an indi-
vidual who is deceased at the time of payment
under this Act, such payment may be made
only as follows:
(i) If the individual is survived by a
spouse who is living at the time of pay-
ment, such payment shall be made to such
surviving spouse.
(ii) If there is no surviving spouse de-
scribed in clause (i), such payment shall be
made in equal shares to all children of the
individual who are living at the time of
payment.
(iii) If there is no surviving spouse de-
scribed in clause (i) and if there are no
children described in clause (ii), such pay-
ment shall be made in equal shares to the
parents of the individual who are living at
the time of payment.
(iv) If there is no surviving spouse de-
scribed in clause (i), and if there are no
children described in clause (ii) or parents
described in clause (iii), such payment
shall be made in equal shares to all grand-
children of the individual who are living at
the time of payment.
(v) If there is no surviving spouse de-
scribed in clause (i), and if there are no
children described in clause (ii), parents
described in clause (iii), or grandchildren
described in clause (iv), then such payment
shall be made in equal shares to the grand-
parents of the individual who are living at
the time of payment.
(B) INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE SURVIVORS.—
If an individual eligible for payment under sec-
tion 4 dies before filing a claim under this Act,
any survivor of that individual described in sub-
paragraph (A) may file a claim for such pay-
ment under this Act.
(C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this
paragraph—
(i) the spouse of an individual is a
wife or husband of that individual who was
married to that individual for at least one
year immediately before the death of that
individual;
(ii) a child includes a recognized natu-
ral child, a stepchild who lived with an in-
dividual in a regular parent-child relation-
ship, and an adopted child;
(iii) a parent includes fathers and
mothers through adoption;
(iv) a grandchild of an individual is a
child of a child of that individual; and
(v) a grandparent of an individual is
a parent of a parent of that individual.
(e) ACTION ON CLAIMS.—The Attorney General shall
complete the determination on each claim filed in accord-
ance with the procedures established under subsection (a)
not later than 12 months after the claim is so filed.
(f) PAYMENT
IN FULL SETTLEMENT
OF CLAIMS
AGAINST UNITED STATES.—The acceptance of payment
by an individual under this Act shall be in full satisfaction
of all claims of or on behalf of that individual against the
United States, or against any person with respect to that
person’s performance of a contract with the United States,
that arise out of exposure to significant beryllium hazards
at any time during the period referred to in section
4(b)(1).
(g) ADMINISTRATIVE
COSTS
NOT
PAID
FROM
FUND.—The costs incurred by the Attorney General in
carrying out this Act may not be paid from the Fund or
set off against, or otherwise deducted from, any payment
under this Act to any individual.
(h) TERMINATION OF DUTIES OF ATTORNEY GEN-
ERAL.—The duties of the Attorney General under this Act
shall cease when the Fund terminates.
(i) CERTIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS
UNDER OTHER LAWS.—Amounts paid to an individual
under this Act—
(1) shall be treated for purposes of the internal
revenue laws of the United States as damages for
human suffering; and
(2) shall not be included as income or resources
for purposes of determining eligibility to receive ben-
efits described in section 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31,
United States Code, or the amount of such benefits.
(j) USE OF EXISTING RESOURCES.—The Attorney
General should use funds and resources available to the
Attorney General to carry out his or her functions under
this Act.
(k) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Attorney Gen-
eral may issue any regulations necessary to carry out this
Act.
(l) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND
PROCEDURES.—Regulations, guidelines, and procedures
to carry out this Act shall be issued not later than 180
days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. CLAIMS NOT ASSIGNABLE OR TRANSFERABLE; LIMI-
TATION OF REMEDIES.
(a) CLAIMS NOT ASSIGNABLE OR TRANSFERABLE.—
A claim cognizable under this Act may not be assigned
or transferred.
(b) LIMITATION OF REMEDIES.—An individual may
not receive more than one payment under this Act.
SEC. 7. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.
A claim to which this Act applies shall be barred un-
less the claim is filed within 20 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. ATTORNEY FEES.
It shall be unlawful for an amount exceeding 10 per-
cent of the value of any payment made under this Act
to be paid to, or received by, any agent or attorney for
any service rendered in connection with the claim for pay-
ment. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty
of an infraction, and shall be subject to a fine in the
amount provided in title 18, United States Code.
SEC. 9. CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT AFFECTED BY AWARDS OF
DAMAGES.
A payment made under this Act shall not be consid-
ered as any form of compensation or reimbursement for
a loss for purposes of imposing liability on any individual
receiving such payment, on the basis of such receipt, to
repay any insurance carrier for insurance payments, or to
repay any person on account of worker’s compensation
payments, and a payment under this Act shall not affect
any claim against an insurance carrier with respect to in-
surance or against any person with respect to worker’s
compensation.
SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions
shall apply:
(1) BERYLLIUM
INDUSTRY
SITE.—The term
‘‘beryllium industry site’’ means a site that—
(A) was owned, operated, or supervised by
the Federal Government for the mining or proc-
essing of beryllium or a beryllium compound; or
(B) produced mined or processed beryllium
or beryllium compound under contract with the
Federal Government.
(2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Be-
ryllium Exposure Compensation Trust Fund under
section 3(a).
SEC. 11. REPORT.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
submit to the Congress not later than September 30,
2003, a report on the incidence of beryllium-related illness
among workers employed at beryllium industry sites.
SEC. 12. BUDGET ACT COMPLIANCE.
The authority under this Act to enter into contracts
or to make payments shall not be effective in any fiscal
year except to such extent or in such amounts as are pro-
vided in advance in appropriations Acts.
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