SEC 302. ESTABLISHMENT OF A PHYSICIANS PANEL BY THE
SECRETARY 
OF 
HEALTH 
AND 
HUMAN
SERVICES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall, in consultation with the Association
of Occupational Health Clinics, appoint one or more 3-
member Physicians Panels, depending on geographic
needs and the size of the caseload, composed of physicians
with experience and competency in diagnosing occupa-
tional illnesses. Each member shall be paid at the rate
of pay payable for Level III of the Executive Schedule for
each day (including travel time) the member is engaged
in the work of the panel. The Secretary shall also provide
necessary administrative support for the panel to conduct
its work.
(b) DEEMED EXPERT PANEL.—The Secretary of
Labor shall deem the panel appointed under subsection
(a) to be an expert panel for purposes of medical rec-
ommendation. However, a claimant may seek and present
a second opinion to the Secretary of Labor in the event
that a claimant disputes a determination or recommenda-
tion by a panel.
(c) COSTS.—Costs of operating the panels shall be
reimbursed by the Secretary of Energy from the Energy
Employees Occupational Illness Act Fund.
SEC. 303. ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall for-
ward claims to the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices when there is a need for a determination whether oc-
cupational exposure to a hazardous substance was a con-
tributing factor to the illness, impairment, disease, or
death of a claimant, and the Secretary of Labor is unable
to make an affirmative determination based on the infor-
mation submitted by the claimant.
(b) PANEL AND CLAIMS.—Upon receipt of a claim
from the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall forward such claims within 7 days
to a physicians panel. The Secretary shall, upon passage,
develop procedures for receiving, tracking, and returning
recommendations to the Secretary of Labor, and for em-
ploying and providing services to the panels.
(c) PANEL ACTION.—The panels shall promptly re-
view claims, including medical records and work history,
submitted by the Secretary of Labor, and determine
whether exposure to a hazardous substances was a con-
tributing factor to the employee’s illness, disease, or death.
Claims shall be reviewed and determinations issued, when-
ever practical, within 60 days. If a determination shall
take more than 60 days, the Secretary of Labor and the
claimant shall be notified of the date by which a deter-
mination shall be issued.
(d) EXPOSURE INFORMATION.—Where exposure in-
formation is insufficient or non existent, the panels shall
evaluate exposure risks by determining the nature of the
job hazards by identifying job titles held by the employee,
length of employment, type of work activities, types of oc-
cupational hazards, length of time exposed to these haz-
ards, whether there was adequate protective equipment,
whether there was full knowledge by employee of exposure
to hazards, whether more than one hazard presents an ad-
ditive or multiplicative effect, whether employee was in-
volved in accidental release or accident, and whether simi-
larly situated employees have contracted similar diseases
that are attributable to occupational exposure.
(e) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—Upon request, the
claimant shall have the opportunity to present additional
medical or exposure information to the panel through the
Secretary of Labor. If additional information is required
to render a recommendation, the panel may request,
through the Secretary of Labor, that a claimant undergo
specified diagnostic tests, or that the Department of En-
ergy or its contractors supply additional information. A
copy of the recommendation shall be provided to the claim-
ant by the Secretary of Labor upon request.
SEC 304. ESTABLISHMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE
PRESUMPTIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the occupational
disease presumptions established in titles I and II, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall direct that
a panel establish a list of illnesses and diseases which,
based on occupational exposure to certain hazardous sub-
stances or based on employment in certain industrial or
laboratory processes, are potentially attributable to em-
ployment at Department of Energy facilities or Depart-
ment of Energy vendors listed in section 201. This list
of presumptions shall serve as guidance to the panels in
expediting and improving the quality of recommendations,
and shall be provided to the Secretary of Labor for use
in developing guidance for making claims determinations.
Such list shall be published 12 months after the establish-
ment of this program, updated on an annual basis there-
after, and provided as a report to Congress.
(b) LIST OF PRESUMPTIONS.—In establishing a list
of presumptions, a panel shall—
(1) identify and categorize the types and pat-
terns of diseases which are potentially attributable
to employment at a listed Department of Energy fa-
cility, including those illnesses, impairments, dis-
eases, and deaths identified through medical screen-
ing programs conducted through the Department of
Energy’s Office of Environment, Safety and Health,
(including the former worker medical program au-
thorized under Section 3162 of the Fiscal Year 93
Defense Authorization Act (42 U.S.C. 7274(i))), Na-
tional Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
health studies, peer reviewed epidemiology studies,
and Department of Energy medical programs.
(2) identify and apply presumptions that are
supported in the scientific and medical literature,
and where there are biological indicators that can be
used, a panel shall specify diagnostic tests required
to establish a presumption that exposure or inges-
tion of a particular substance or compound will sig-
nificantly contribute to illness, impairments, disease,
or death.
(3) evaluate site specific history of working con-
ditions at certain types of facilities (such as gaseous
diffusion plants, calcining facilities, reactors, etc.),
and the adequacy of protective measures provided to
exposed workers over the history of operations;
(4) determine whether patterns of diseases exist
that are potentially attributable linked to workplace
exposures;
(5) determine whether workers were adequately
informed of exposure hazards;
(6) determine whether there are presumptions
of workplace causation that have been established
for workers similarly exposed in other hazardous in-
dustries or occupations (such as firefighters);
(7) determine whether workers were involved in
accidents where excessive exposures occurred;
(8) determine whether workers exposed to haz-
ardous substances received adequate follow-on emer-
gency medical treatment and monitoring and subse-
quent medical attention to determine health impair-
ment; and
(9) evaluate other factors that a panel deems
prudent and necessary.
Moreover, in addition to the 9 forgoing factors, a panel
shall evaluate those circumstances where covered employ-
ees, without their knowledge and consent, were placed at
undue risk to hazardous substances without adequate pro-
tections or monitoring and shall recommend whether fair-
ness and equity require that a presumption be established
in favor of employees for eligibility for compensation for
illnesses, impairments and diseases. Such recommendation
shall be incorporated in the annual report and transmitted
to Congress.
(d) REVIEW OF DATA.—The Department of Energy
shall submit reports to the Secretary of Health and
Human Services who shall, in turn, provide panels with
information on (1) historic exposure assessments and (2)
reports on ES&H practices, and (3) medical findings and
data on the Department of Energy Medical Surveillance
Program carried out under section 3162 of the 1993 De-
fense Authorization Act.
SEC. 305. PANEL SHALL REPORT DETERMINATION TO SEC-
RETARY OF LABOR.
Once a panel has made a recommendation on a claim
referred by the Secretary of Labor, it shall report its rec-
ommendation to the Secretary of Labor within 7 days of
approving a recommendation with an outline of the rea-
sons for the determination. The panel shall make its rec-
ommendation on the basis of whether workplace exposures
to hazardous substances were a substantial contributing
factor to the illness, impairment, disease, or death.
TITLE IV—ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE
SEC. 401. ELIGIBILITY OF COMMUNITIES CONTAINING DE-
PARTMENT OF ENERGY DEFENSE NUCLEAR
FACILITIES.
Section 302(a) of the Public Works and Economic
Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3161(a)) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY DEFENSE NU-
CLEAR FACILITIES.—The area contains a Depart-
ment of Energy defense nuclear facility, as defined
by section 3163 of the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act for Fiscal Year 1993 (42 U.S.C. 7274j).’’.
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