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“CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4200, RONALD W. REAGAN NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1967 on Oct. 11, 2004.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4200, RONALD W. REAGAN NATIONAL DEFENSE
AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005
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speech of
HON. MAJOR R. OWENS
of new york
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 8, 2004
Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, the bill before us contains several extremely important provisions. They are designed to provide essential medical care and compensation for the brave Americans who worked from the 1950s through the 1970s to build this Nation's atomic weapons, often at serious risk to their own health and well-being. In far too many cases, these atomic energy workers were deliberately misled about the serious health risks their occupational exposure to radiation, heavy metals, and other toxic and dangerous substances would entail. Although Congress enacted the Energy Employee Occupation Illness Compensation Program Act, EEOICPA, in 2000 to provide such workers with essential medical care for specified types of cancer and compensation for their inability to work due to illness, a scarce few actually received it. Moreover, a number of workers died without the government ever making good on its promises to recognize their critical contributions to national defense work. In such cases, the surviving spouses and dependent children of these workers remain justly entitled to compensation.
Mr. Speaker, in the early 1950s there were two atomic weapons employers in my district, the 11th Congressional District of New York. One such plant, the American Machine and Foundry, AMF, designed and produced industrial equipment for the Atomic Energy Commission. By carrying out metal machining work for the Atomic Energy Commission--
with uranium, thorium and zirconium--employees at this plant were exposed on a daily basis to large volumes of radioactive and hazardous metals. A second plant in my district, the Wolff-Alport Chemical Corporation, procured thorium sludge for stockpiling by the Atomic Energy Commission. Wolff-Alport Chemical workers were likewise exposed to thousands of pounds of dangerous radioactive substances.
Mr. Speaker, the provisions in this bill will settle long-standing health care and compensation claims by providing guaranteed Federal benefits for eligible employees whose work in Department of Energy nuclear facilities caused serious illness, impairment and/or disabling conditions. Likewise, this bill will guarantee Federal benefits for the uranium miners, millers and transporters made ill as a result of their work and covered under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program, RECA.
From Brooklyn, NY, to Berkeley, CA, the atomic energy workers and surviving relatives have been hurt twice. First, many workers contracted grave diseases, often after a long latency period, as a result of exposure to dangerous nuclear and toxic materials. Second, the workers and their families were hurt for too many years by a policy of denial with respect to our national responsibility to them. It is imperative we reverse this policy of denial for once and for all. This bill accomplishes just that. It provides a guaranteed Federal benefit for the critical health care and compensation these workers and their families both require and deserve. In closing, I would like to thank my distinguished colleague from Missouri, the ranking minority member of the Armed Services Committee, as well as minority and majority staff, for their hard work and persistence in making certain these deserving workers and families will finally get justice.
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