Uranium Miners and Workers Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3497 To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act with respect to claims relating to uranium mining. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 18, 2023 Ms. HAGEMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Appropria- tions, 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 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act with respect to claims relating to uranium mining. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Uranium Miners and 4 Workers Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. CLAIMS RELATING TO URANIUM MINING. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 7 5(a)(1) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:36 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3497.IH H3497 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3497 IH (Public Law 101–426; 42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended 1 to read as follows: 2 ‘‘(A) that individual— 3 ‘‘(i) was employed— 4 ‘‘(I) in a uranium mine or ura- 5 nium mill (including any individual 6 who was employed in the transport of 7 uranium ore or vanadium-uranium ore 8 from such mine or mill) located in Ar- 9 izona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, 10 North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, 11 Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, 12 or any other State for which the At- 13 torney General makes a determination 14 for inclusion of eligibility; and 15 ‘‘(II) at any time during the pe- 16 riod beginning on January 1, 1942, 17 and ending on December 31, 1978; 18 and 19 ‘‘(ii)(I) was a miner exposed to 40 or 20 more working level months of radiation or 21 worked for at least 1 year during the pe- 22 riod described under clause (i)(II) and sub- 23 mits written medical documentation that 24 the individual, after that exposure, devel- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:36 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3497.IH H3497 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3497 IH oped lung cancer, a nonmalignant res- 1 piratory disease, renal cancer, or any other 2 chronic renal disease, including nephritis 3 and kidney tubal tissue injury; or 4 ‘‘(II) was a miller, ore transporter, or 5 core driller who worked for at least 1 year 6 during the period described under clause 7 (i)(II) and submits written medical docu- 8 mentation that the individual, after that 9 exposure, developed lung cancer, a non- 10 malignant respiratory disease, renal can- 11 cer, or any other chronic renal disease, in- 12 cluding nephritis and kidney tubal tissue 13 injury;’’. 14 (b) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—For individuals who are 15 eligible for payments described in subparagraph (A) of 16 section 5(a)(1) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation 17 Act (Public Law 101–426; 42 U.S.C. 2210 note), as 18 amended by subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 19 shall transfer, not later than 60 days after the date of 20 enactment of this Act, $475,000,000 to the Radiation Ex- 21 posure Compensation Trust Fund established under sec- 22 tion 3 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, out 23 of unobligated amounts appropriated for purposes of 24 coronavirus response under any of the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:36 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3497.IH H3497 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3497 IH (1) The Coronavirus Preparedness and Re- 1 sponse Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 2 (Public Law 116–123; 134 Stat. 146). 3 (2) The Families First Coronavirus Response 4 Act (Public Law 116–127; 134 Stat. 178). 5 (3) The CARES Act (Public Law 116–136; 134 6 Stat. 281). 7 (4) The Paycheck Protection Program and 8 Health Care Enhancement Act (Public Law 116– 9 139; 134 Stat. 620). 10 (5) Divisions M and N of the Consolidated Ap- 11 propriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260; 134 12 Stat. 1182). 13 (6) The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 14 (Public Law 117–2; 135 Stat. 4). 15 (7) An amendment made by a provision of law 16 described in any of paragraphs (1) through (6). 17 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE RADIATION EXPOSURE 18 COMPENSATION ACT. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(d) of the Radiation Ex- 20 posure Compensation Act (Public Law 101–426; 42 21 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended by striking the first sen- 22 tence and inserting ‘‘The Fund shall terminate on the date 23 that is 4 years after the date of enactment of the Uranium 24 Miners and Workers Act of 2023.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:36 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3497.IH H3497 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3497 IH (b) LIMITATION ON CLAIMS.—Section 8(a) of the Ra- 1 diation Exposure Compensation Act (Public Law 101– 2 426; 42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended by striking ‘‘not 3 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the 4 RECA Extension Act of 2022’’ and inserting ‘‘not later 5 than 4 years after the date of enactment of the Uranium 6 Miners and Workers Act of 2023’’. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:36 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3497.IH H3497 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS