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SEC. 110. (a) FINDINGS.—The Senate makes the fol-
lowing findings:
(1) One of the most outrageous examples of the
failure of the Federal Government to honor its obliga-
tions to veterans involves the so-called ‘‘atomic vet-
erans’’, patriotic Americans who were exposed to ra-
diation at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and at nuclear
test sites.
(2) For more than 50 years, many atomic vet-
erans have been denied veterans compensation for dis-
eases, known as radiogenic diseases, that the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs recognizes as being linked to
exposure to radiation. Many of these diseases are le-
thal forms of cancer.
(3) The Department of Veterans Affairs almost
invariably denies the claims for compensation of
atomic veterans on the grounds that the radiation
doses received by such veterans were too low to result
in radiogenic disease, even though many scientists
and former Under Secretary for Health Kenneth
Kizer agree that the dose reconstruction analyses con-
ducted by the Department of Defense are unreliable.
(4) Although the Department of Veterans Affairs
already has a list of radiogenic diseases that are pre-
sumed to be service-connected, the Department omits
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three diseases—lung cancer, colon cancer, and central
nervous system cancer—from that list, notwith-
standing the agreement of scientists that the evidence
of a link between the three diseases and low-level ex-
posure to radiation is very convincing and, in many
cases, is stronger than the evidence of a link between
such exposure and other radiogenic diseases currently
on that list.
(b) SENSE OF SENATE.—It is the sense of the Senate
that lung cancer, colon cancer, and brain and central nerv-
ous system cancer should be added to the list of radiogenic
diseases that are presumed by the Department of Veterans
Affairs to be service-connected disabilities.
TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING
HOUSING CERTIFICATE FUND
(INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)
For activities and assistance to prevent the involun-
tary displacement of low-income families, the elderly and
the disabled because of the loss of affordable housing stock,
expiration of subsidy contracts (other than contracts for
which amounts are provided under another heading in this
Act) or expiration of use restrictions, or other changes in
housing assistance arrangements, and for other purposes,
$11,051,135,000, to remain available until expended: Pro-
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vided, That of the total amount provided under this head-
ing, $10,855,135,000, of which $6,655,135,000 shall be
available on October 1, 1999 and $4,200,000,000 shall be
available on October 1, 2000, shall be for assistance under
the United States Housing Act of 1937 (‘‘The Act’’ herein)
(42 U.S.C. 1437) for use in connection with expiring or
terminating section 8 subsidy contracts, for enhanced
vouchers (including renewals) as provided under the ‘‘Pre-
serving Existing Housing Investment’’ account in the De-
partments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban De-
velopment, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act,
1997 (Public Law 104–204) for families eligible for assist-
ance under such Act, and contracts entered into pursuant
to section 441 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assist-
ance Act: Provided further, That the Secretary may deter-
mine not to apply section 8(o)(6)(B) of the Act to housing
vouchers during fiscal year 2000: Provided further, That
of the total amount provided under this heading,
$156,000,000 shall be for section 8 rental assistance under
the Act including assistance to relocate residents of prop-
erties: (1) that are owned by the Secretary and being dis-
posed of; or (2) that are discontinuing section 8 project-
based assistance; for relocation and replacement housing for
units that are demolished or disposed of from the public
housing inventory (in addition to amounts that may be
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available for such purposes under this and other headings);
for the conversion of section 23 projects to assistance under
section 8; for funds to carry out the family unification pro-
gram; and for the relocation of witnesses in connection with
efforts to combat crime in public and assisted housing pur-
suant to a request from a law enforcement or prosecution
agency: Provided further, That of the total amount provided
under this heading, $40,000,000 shall be made available to
nonelderly disabled families affected by the designation of
a public housing development under section 7 of such Act,
the establishment of preferences in accordance with section
651 of the Housing and Community Development Act of
1992 (42 U.S.C. 1361l), or the restriction of occupancy to
elderly families in accordance with section 658 of such Act,
and to the extent the Secretary determines that such amount
is not needed to fund applications for such affected families,
to other nonelderly disabled families: Provided further, That
no funds under this heading may be used for Regional Op-
portunity Counseling: Provided further, That all balances
for the section 8 rental assistance, section 8 counseling, new
construction 
sub-rehabilitation, 
relocation/replacement/
demolition, section 23 conversions, rental and disaster
vouchers, loan management set-aside, section 514 technical
assistance, and programs previously funded within the
‘‘Annual Contributions’’ account shall be transferred to this
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account, to be available for the purposes for which they were
originally appropriated: Provided further, That all bal-
ances previously recaptured in the ‘‘Section 8 Reserve Pres-
ervation’’ account shall be transferred to this account, to
be available for the purposes for which they were originally
appropriated: Provided further, That the unexpended
amounts previously appropriated for special purpose grants
within the ‘‘Annual Contributions for Assisted Housing’’
account shall be recaptured and transferred to this account,
to be available for assistance under the Act for use in con-
nection with expiring or terminating section 8 subsidy con-
tracts: Provided further, That of the amounts previously ap-
propriated for property disposition within the ‘‘Annual
Contributions for Assisted Housing’’ account, up to
$79,000,000 shall be transferred to this account, to be avail-
able for assistance under the Act for use in connection with
expiring or terminating section 8 subsidy contracts: Pro-
vided further, That of the unexpended amounts previously
appropriated for carrying out the Low-Income Housing
Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990 and
the Emergency Low-Income Housing Preservation Act of
1987, other than amounts made available for rental assist-
ance, within the ‘‘Annual Contributions for Assisted Hous-
ing’’ and ‘‘Preserving Existing Housing Investments’’ ac-
counts, shall be recaptured and transferred to this account,
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to be available for assistance under the Act for use in con-
nection with expiring or terminating section 8 subsidy con-
tracts.
PUBLIC HOUSING CAPITAL FUND
(INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)
For the Public Housing Capital Fund Program to
carry out capital and management activities for public
housing agencies, as authorized under section 9 of the
United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended (42 U.S.C.
1437), $2,555,000,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That of the total amount, up to $100,000,000
shall be for carrying out activities under section 9(d) of
such Act, and technical assistance for the inspection of pub-
lic housing units, contract expertise, and training and tech-
nical assistance directly or indirectly, under grants, con-
tracts, or cooperative agreements, to assist in the oversight
and management of public housing related to capital activi-
ties for lease adjustments to section 23 projects: Provided
further, That no funds may be used under this heading for
the purposes specified in section 9(k) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937, as in effect immediately before enact-
ment of this Act: Provided further, That all balances for
debt service for Public and Indian Housing and Public and
Indian Housing Grants previously funded within the ‘‘An-
nual Contributions for Assisted Housing’’ account shall be