114 STAT. 1654A-496 PUBLIC LAW 106-398 —APPENDIX from filing workers' compensation claims and has imposed major financial burdens for such employees who have sought compensation. Contractors of the Department have been held harmless and the employees have been denied workers' compensation coverage for occupational disease. (5) Over the past 20 years, more than two dozen scientific findings have emerged that indicate that certain of such employees are experiencing increased risks of dying from cancer and non-malignant diseases. Several of these studies have also established a correlation between excess diseases and exposure to radiation and beryllium. (6) While linking exposure to occupational hazards with the development of occupational disease is sometimes difficult, scientific evidence supports the conclusion that occupational exposure to dust particles or vapor of beryllium can cause beryllium sensitivity and chronic beryllium disease. Furthermore, studies indicate than 98 percent of radiation-induced cancers within the nuclear weapons complex have occurred at dose levels below existing maximum safe thresholds. (7) Existing information indicates that State workers' compensation programs do not provide a uniform means of ensuring adequate compensation for the types of occupational illnesses and diseases that relate to the employees at those sites. (8) To ensure fairness and equity, the civilian men and women who, over the past 50 years, have performed duties uniquely related to the nuclear weapons production and testing programs of the Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies should have efficient, uniform, and adequate compensation for beryllium-related health conditions and radiationrelated health conditions. (9) On April 12, 2000, the Secretary of Energy announced that the Administration intended to seek compensation for individuals with a broad range of work-related illnesses throughout the Department of Energy's nuclear weapons complex. (10) However, as of October 2, 2000, the Administration has failed to provide Congress with the necessary legislative and budget proposals to enact the promised compensation program. (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.— It is the sense of Congress that— (1) a program should be established to provide compensation to covered employees; (2) a fund for payment of such compensation should be established on the books of the Treasury; (3) payments from that fund should be made only after— (A) the identification of employees of the Department of Energy (including its predecessor agencies), and of contractors of the Department, who may be members of the group of covered employees; (B) the establishment of a process to receive and administer claims for compensation for disability or death of covered employees; (C) the submittal by the President of a legislative proposal for compensation of such employees that includes the estimated annual budget resources for that compensation; and
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