[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 49 (Monday, December 11, 2000)]
[Pages 3025-3028]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Executive Order 13179--Providing Compensation to America's Nuclear
Weapons Workers
December 7, 2000
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
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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,
[[Page 3027]]
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;
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(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.
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., December 8,
2000]
Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on
December 11.