View Header

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release December 7, 2000

EXECUTIVE ORDER


                  PROVIDING COMPENSATION TO AMERICA'S
                        NUCLEAR WEAPONS WORKERS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including Public Law 106-398, the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-398, the "Act"), and to allocate the responsibilities imposed by that legislation and to provide for further legislative efforts, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. Since World War II, hundreds of thousands of men and women have served their Nation in building its nuclear defense. In the course of their work, they overcame previously unimagined scientific and technical challenges. Thousands of these courageous Americans, however, paid a high price for their service, developing disabling or fatal illnesses as a result of exposure to beryllium, ionizing radiation, and other hazards unique to nuclear weapons production and testing. Too often, these workers were neither adequately protected from, nor informed of, the occupational hazards to which they were exposed.

Existing workers' compensation programs have failed to provide for the needs of these workers and their families. Federal workers' compensation programs have generally not included these workers. Further, because of long latency periods, the uniqueness of the hazards to which they were exposed, and inadequate exposure data, many of these individuals have been unable to obtain State workers' compensation benefits. This problem has been exacerbated by the past policy of the Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessors of encouraging and assisting DOE contractors in opposing the claims of workers who sought those benefits. This policy has recently been reversed.

While the Nation can never fully repay these workers or their families, they deserve recognition and compensation for their sacrifices. Since the Administration's historic announcement in July of 1999 that it intended to compensate DOE nuclear weapons workers who suffered occupational illnesses as a result of exposure to the unique hazards in building the Nation's nuclear defense, it has been the policy of this Administration to support fair and timely compensation for these workers and their survivors. The Federal Government should provide necessary information and otherwise help employees of the DOE or its contractors determine if their illnesses are associated with conditions of their nuclear weapons-related work; it should provide workers and their survivors with all pertinent and available information necessary for evaluating and processing claims; and it should ensure that this program minimizes the administrative burden on workers and their survivors, and respects their dignity and privacy. This order sets out agency responsibilities to accomplish these goals, building on the Administration's articulated principles and the framework set forth in the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Energy shall be responsible for developing and implementing actions under the Act to compensate these workers and their families in a manner that is compassionate, fair, and timely. Other Federal agencies, as appropriate, shall assist in this effort.

Sec. 2. Designation of Responsibilities for Administering the Energy Employees' Occupational Illness Compensation Program ("Program").

(a) Secretary of Labor. The Secretary of Labor shall have primary responsibility for administering the Program. Specifically, the Secretary shall:

          (i) Administer and decide all questions arising under the Act
     not assigned to other agencies by the Act or by this order,
     including determining the eligibility of individuals with covered
     occupational illnesses and their survivors and adjudicating claims
     for compensation and benefits;

          (ii) No later than May 31, 2001, promulgate regulations for
     the administration of the Program, except for functions assigned to
     other agencies pursuant to the Act or this order;

          (iii) No later than July 31, 2001, ensure the availability, in
     paper and electronic format, of forms necessary for making claims
     under the Program; and

          (iv) Develop informational materials, in coordination with the
     Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
     to help potential claimants understand the Program and the
     application process, and provide these materials to individuals
     upon request and to the Secretary of Energy and the Attorney
     General for dissemination to potentially eligible individuals.

     (b) Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The Secretary of

Health and Human Services shall:

          (i) No later than May 31, 2001, promulgate regulations
     establishing:

               (A) guidelines, pursuant to section 3623(c) of the Act,
          to assess the likelihood that an individual with cancer
          sustained the cancer in the performance of duty at a
          Department of Energy facility or an atomic weapons employer
          facility, as defined by the Act; and

               (B) methods, pursuant to section 3623(d) of the Act, for
          arriving at and providing reasonable estimates of the
          radiation doses received by individuals applying for
          assistance under this program for whom there are inadequate
          records of radiation exposure;

          (ii) In accordance with procedures developed by the Secretary
     of Health and Human Services, consider and issue determinations on
     petitions by classes of employees to be treated as members of the
     Special Exposure Cohort;

          (iii) With the assistance of the Secretary of Energy, apply
     the methods promulgated under subsection (b)(i)(B) to estimate the
     radiation doses received by individuals applying for assistance;

          (iv) Upon request from the Secretary of Energy, appoint
     members for a physician panel or panels to consider individual
     workers' compensation claims as part of the Worker Assistance
     Program under the process established pursuant to subsection
     (c)(v); and

          (v) Provide the Advisory Board established under section 4 of
     this order with administrative services, funds, facilities, staff,
     and other necessary support services and perform the administrative
     functions of the President under the Federal Advisory Committee
     Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), with respect to the Advisory
     Board.

     (c) Secretary of Energy.  The Secretary of Energy shall:

          (i) Provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the
     Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health access, in accordance
     with law, to all relevant information pertaining to worker
     exposures, including access to restricted data, and any other
     technical assistance needed to carry out their responsibilities
     under subsection (b)(ii) and section 4(b), respectively.

          (ii) Upon request from the Secretary of Health and Human
     Services or the Secretary of Labor, and as permitted by law,
     require a DOE contractor, subcontractor, or designated beryllium
     vendor, pursuant to section 3631(c) of the Act, to provide
     information relevant to a claim under this Program;

          (iii) Identify and notify potentially eligible individuals of
     the availability of compensation under the Program;

          (iv) Designate, pursuant to sections 3621(4)(B) and 3622 of
     the Act, atomic weapons employers and additions to the list of
     designated beryllium vendors;

          (v) Pursuant to Subtitle D of the Act, negotiate agreements
     with the chief executive officer of each State in which there is a
     DOE facility, and other States as appropriate, to provide
     assistance to a DOE contractor employee on filing a State workers'
     compensation system claim, and establish a Worker Assistance
     Program to help individuals whose illness is related to employment
     in the DOE's nuclear weapons complex, or the individual's survivor
     if the individual is deceased, in applying for State workers'
     compensation benefits.  This assistance shall include:

               (1) Submittal of reasonable claims to a physician panel,
          appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and
          administered by the Secretary of Energy, under procedures
          established by the Secretary of Energy, for determination of
          whether the individual's illness or death arose out of and in
          the course of employment by the DOE or its contractors and
          exposure to a toxic substance at a DOE facility; and

               (2) For cases determined by the physician panel and the
          Secretary of Energy under section 3661(d) and (e) of the Act
          to have arisen out of and in the course of employment by the
          DOE or its contractors and exposure to a toxic substance at a
          DOE facility, provide assistance to the individual in filing
          for workers' compensation benefits.  The Secretary shall not
          contest these claims and, to the extent permitted by law,
          shall direct a DOE contractor who employed the applicant not
          to contest the claim;

          (vi) Report on the Worker Assistance Program by making
     publicly available on at least an annual basis claims-related data,
     including the number of claims filed, the number of illnesses found
     to be related to work at a DOE facility, job location and
     description, and number of successful State workers' compensation
     claims awarded; and

          (vii) No later than January 15, 2001, publish in the Federal
     Register a list of atomic weapons employer facilities within the
     meaning of section 3621(5) of the Act, Department of Energy
     employer facilities within the meaning of section 3621(12) of the
     Act, and a list of facilities owned and operated by a beryllium
     vendor, within the meaning of section 3621(6) of the Act.

     (d) Attorney General.  The Attorney General shall:

          (i) Develop procedures to notify, to the extent possible, each
     claimant (or the survivor of that claimant if deceased) whose claim
     for compensation under section 5 of the Radiation Exposure
     Compensation Act has been or is approved by the Department of
     Justice, of the availability of supplemental compensation and
     benefits under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness
     Compensation Program;

          (ii) Identify and notify eligible covered uranium employees or
     their survivors of the availability of supplemental compensation
     under the Program; and

          (iii) Upon request by the Secretary of Labor, provide
     information needed to adjudicate the claim of a covered uranium
     employee under this Program.

     Sec. 3.  Establishment of Interagency Working Group.

     (a) There is hereby established an Interagency Working Group to be

composed of representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the National Economic Council, and the Departments of Labor, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Justice.

(b) The Working Group shall:

          (i) By January 1, 2001, develop a legislative proposal to
     ensure the Program's fairness and efficiency, including provisions
     to assure adequate administrative resources and swift dispute
     resolution; and

          (ii) Address any impediments to timely and coordinated Program
     implementation.

     Sec. 4.  Establishment of Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker

Health.

(a) Pursuant to Public Law 106-398, there is hereby established an Advisory Board on Radiation and Health (Advisory Board). The Advisory Board shall consist of no more than 20 members to be appointed by the President. Members shall include affected workers and their representatives, and representatives from scientific and medical communities. The President shall designate a Chair for the Board among its members.

(b) The Advisory Board shall:

          (i) Advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the
     development of guidelines under section 2(b)(i) of this order;

          (ii) Advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the
     scientific validity and quality of dose reconstruction efforts
     performed for this Program; and

           (iii) Upon request by the Secretary of Health and Human
     Services, advise the Secretary on whether there is a class of
     employees at any Department of Energy facility who were exposed to
     radiation but for whom it is not feasible to estimate their
     radiation dose, and on whether there is a reasonable likelihood
     that such radiation dose may have endangered the health of members
     of the class.

     Sec. 5.  Reporting Requirements.  The Secretaries of Labor, Health

and Human Services, and Energy shall, as part of their annual budget submissions, report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on their activities under this Program, including total expenditures related to benefits and program administration. They shall also report to the OMB, no later than March 1, 2001, on the manner in which they will carry out their respective responsibilities under the Act and this order. This report shall include, among other things, a description of the administrative structure established within their agencies to implement the Act and this order. In addition, the Secretary of Labor shall annually report on the total number and types of claims for which compensation was considered and other data pertinent to evaluating the Federal Government's performance fulfilling the requirements of the Act and this order.

Sec. 6. Administration and Judicial Review. (a) This Executive Order shall be carried out subject to the availability of appropriations, and to the extent permitted by law.

(b) This Executive Order does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers or employees, or any other person.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

                                   THE WHITE HOUSE,
                                   December 7, 2000.

# # #