Nuclear Workers Health Advisory Board Act - Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to require the President to establish an Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health.
Requires the Board to provide advice to the President on the review and approval of the Department of Labor site exposure matrix (SEM) used to determine the eligibility of Department of Energy (DOE) employee contractor claims for compensation for lung disease resulting from exposure to toxic substances.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2905 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2905
To amend the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program
Act of 2000 to strengthen the quality control measures in place for
part B lung disease claims and to establish the Advisory Board on Toxic
Substances and Worker Health for the contractor employee compensation
program under subtitle E of such Act.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 1, 2013
Mr. Whitfield (for himself, Mr. Polis, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. Ben Ray
Lujan of New Mexico, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Loebsack, Ms. Kaptur, Ms.
Brownley of California, Mr. Young of Florida, Mr. Pierluisi, and Mr.
Honda) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as
fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program
Act of 2000 to strengthen the quality control measures in place for
part B lung disease claims and to establish the Advisory Board on Toxic
Substances and Worker Health for the contractor employee compensation
program under subtitle E of such Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Nuclear Workers Health Advisory
Board Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ADVISORY BOARD ON TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND
WORKER HEALTH.
(a) Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health.--Subtitle
B of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act
of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 3632. ADVISORY BOARD ON TOXIC SUBSTANCES AND WORKER HEALTH.
``(a) Establishment.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date
of the enactment of this section, the President shall establish
and appoint an Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker
Health (referred to in this section as the `Board').
``(2) Consultation on appointments.--The President shall
make appointments to the Board in consultation with
organizations with expertise on worker health issues in order
to ensure that the membership of the Board reflects a proper
balance of perspectives from the scientific, medical, legal,
worker, worker families, and worker advocate communities.
``(3) Chairperson.--The President shall designate a Chair
of the Board from among its members.
``(b) Duties.--The Board shall--
``(1) advise the President concerning the review and
approval of the Department of Labor site exposure matrix;
``(2) conduct periodic peer reviews of, and approve,
medical guidance for part E claims examiners with respect to
the weighing of a claimant's medical evidence;
``(3) obtain periodic expert review of evidentiary
requirements for part B claims related to lung disease
regardless of approval;
``(4) provide oversight over industrial hygienists,
Department of Labor staff physicians, and Department of Labor's
consulting physicians and their reports to ensure quality,
objectivity, and consistency; and
``(5) coordinate exchanges of data and findings with the
Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health to the extent
necessary (under section 3624).
``(c) Staff and Powers.--
``(1) In general.--The President shall appoint a staff to
facilitate the work of the Board. The staff of the Board shall
be headed by a Director who shall be appointed under subchapter
VIII of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code.
``(2) Federal agency personnel.--The President may
authorize the detail of employees of Federal agencies to the
Board as necessary to enable the Board to carry out its duties
under this section. The detail of such personnel may be on a
non-reimbursable basis.
``(3) Powers.--The Board shall have same powers that the
Advisory Board has under section 3624.
``(4) Contractors.--The Secretary shall employ outside
contractors and specialists selected by the Board to support
the work of the Board.
``(d) Expenses.--Members of the Board, other than full-time
employees of the United States, while attending meetings of the Board
or while otherwise serving at the request of the President, and while
serving away from their homes or regular place of business, shall be
allowed travel and meal expenses, including per diem in lieu of
subsistence (as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States
Code) for individuals in the Federal Government serving without pay.
``(e) Security Clearances.--
``(1) Application.--The Secretary of Energy shall ensure
that the members and staff of the Board, and the contractors
performing work in support of the Board, are afforded the
opportunity to apply for a security clearance for any matter
for which such a clearance is appropriate.
``(2) Determination.--The Secretary of Energy should, not
later than 180 days after receiving a completed application for
a security clearance under this subsection, make a
determination whether or not the individual concerned is
eligible for the clearance.
``(3) Report.--For fiscal year 2015, and each fiscal year
thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall include in the budget
justification materials submitted to Congress in support of the
Department of Energy budget for that fiscal year (as submitted
with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title
31, United States Code) a report specifying the number of
applications for security clearances under this subsection, the
number of such applications granted, and the number of such
applications denied.
``(f) Information.--The Secretary of Energy shall, in accordance
with law, provide to the Board and the contractors of the Board, access
to any information that the Board considers relevant to carry out its
responsibilities under this section, including information such as
restricted data (as defined in section 11(y) of the Atomic Energy Act
of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014(y))) and information covered by the Privacy
Act.''.
(b) Department of Labor Response to the Office of the Ombudsman
Annual Report.--Section 3686 of the Energy Employees Occupational
Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7385s-15) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ``February 15'' and
inserting ``July 30''; and
(2) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the following:
``(h) Response to Report.--Not later than 180 days after the
publication of the annual report under subsection (e), the Department
of Labor shall submit an answer in writing on whether the Department
agrees or disagrees with the specific issues raised by the Ombudsman,
if the Department agrees, on the actions to be taken to correct the
problems identified by the Ombudsman, and if the Department does not
agree, on the reasons therefore. The Department of Labor shall post
such answer on the public Internet website of the Department.''.
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
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