MARTIN FROST 24TH DISTRICT RULES COMMITTEE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATION FLOOR WHIP WASHINGTON OFFICE 2469 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20515 (202) 225-3605 CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON, DC 20515 January 26, 1994 THE RADIATION EXPERIMENTATION COMPENSATION ACT Dear Colleague: I am introducing legislation to compensate those individuals who were the subjects of secret government radiation tests that began during the 1940s. To learn about the effects of radiation on humans, the Federal Government commenced radiation tests on individuals. Unfortunately, many of these experiments were conducted without the person being tested ever knowing what was happening. Rather than informing these people about the nature of the experiments and the likely risks, the government and its scientists simply found opportune moments to conduct the experiments secretly. Over the last couple of months, we've been hearing about some of these experiments. We learned, for example, that mentally retarded children were fed food containing radioactive material. We learned that pregnant women were given radioactive medication. We've learned about radiation experiments conducted on veterans in VA hospitals. And we've learned about eighteen individuals being injected with plutonium. One of the people injected with plutonium, Elmer Allen, lived in my congressional District in Texas. Believing he was being treated for bone cancer, Mr. Allen received an injection of plutonium in 1947. Although doctors did not expect him to live long, Elmer Allen lived another 44 years. But those were difficult years for a man troubled by numerous illnesses and health problems. Neither he nor his family ever knew that he had become a guinea pig for government scientists. What the Federal Government did to these people was outrageous. Experiments like these happened in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, not here. Unfortunately, we are now learning that they did happen here. To provide some measure of compensation to the individuals and their families for the burdens they have borne, my bill would authorize a payment of $50,000 to each person who, without giving their informed consent, was the subject of an intentional radiation experiment. A process would be set up by the Attorney General to review claims and determine which ones are eligible for compensation. We can never fully compensate these people for what their government has done to them. However, we can provide some measure of relief with this payment and recognition that the on its citizens. If you would like to join me in cosponsoring this measure, please call Alissa Baum or Askia Suruma at X5-3605. Sincerely, MARTIN FROST F:\M\FROST\FROST.024 H.L.C. 1O3D CONGRESS 2D SESSION H.R. 3743 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MR. FROST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on ________ A BILL To provide for payments to individuals who were the subjects of radiation experiments conducted by the Federal Government. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repesentat- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE 4 This Act may be cited as the "Radiation Experimen- 5 tation Compensation Act of 1994". 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSE, AND APOLOGY. 7 (a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds that- 8 (1) since the 194O's, the Federal Government 9 has intentionally conducted secret radiation experi- 2 1 ments in the United States without the informed 2 consent or Knowledge of the individ~uals on whom the 3 experiments were performed; 4 (2) such radiation experiments included, but 5 were not limited to, experiments involving injections 6 of plutonium, ingestion of irradiated food, exposure 7 to atmospheric radiation, and the prescription of ra- 8 dioactive medication to pregnant women; 9 (3) the Federal Government performed such es- 10 periments not in order to achieve medical or health 11 benefits for the individuals used in the tests, but for 12 research purposes, to allow Federal Government sci- 13 enlists and health specialists to study the effects of 14 radiation on the human body; 15 (4) at the time of such experiments and in the 16 years following the experiments, the Federal Govern- 17 ment failed to inform the individuals tested, or their 18 families, about the nature and effects of the tests; 19 (5) the Federal Government has harmed the 20 subjects of such radiation experiments; 21 (6) the Congress presumes that the exposure to 22 radiation of the subject of such experiments has 23 generated an excess of cancers and other debilitating 24 diseases and health problems for such subjects; 3 1 (7) the Federal Government should recognize 2 that the lives and health of the innocent individuals 3 who were the subjects of such experiments were put 4 at risk by the individuals' unknowing and involun- 5 tary participation in radiation experiments; and 6 (8) the Federal Government should assume re- 7 sponsibility for the harm caused by its actions re- 8 garding the experiments. 9 (b)PURPOSE. -- It is the purpose of this Act to estab- 10 lish a procedure to make partial restitution to the individ- 11 uals described in subsection (a) for the burdens they have 12 borne for the Nation as a whole, although monetary com- 13 pensation can never fully compensate them. 14 (c) APOLOGY. -- The Congress apologizes on behalf of 15 the Nation to the individuals described in subsection (a) 16 and their families for the hardships they have endured be- 17 cause of the experiments described in subsection (a). 18 SEC. 3. TRUST FUND. 19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT. -- There is established in the 20 Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known 21 as the "Radiation Experimentation Compensation Trust 22 Fund" (in this Act referred to as the "Fund"), which shall 23 be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury. 24 (b)INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS IN FUND. -- Amounts 25 in the Fund shall be invested in accordance with section 4 1 9702 of title 31, United States Code, and any interest on, 2 and proceeds from, any such investment shall be credited 3 to and become a part of the Fund. 4 (c) AVAILABILITY OF FUND. -- Amounts in the Fund 5 shall be available only for disbursement by the Attorney 6 General under section 5. 7 (d) TERMINATION. -- 8 (1) TIME OF TERMINATION -- The Fund shall 9 terminate not later than the earlier of -- 10 (A) the date on which the amount author- 11 ized to be appropriated to the Fund by sub- 12 section (e), and any income earned on such 13 amount, have been expended from the Fund; or 14 (B) 22 years after the date of the enact- 15 ment of this Act. 16 (2) AMOUNTS REMAINING IN FUND. -- At the 17 end of the 22-year period referred to in paragraph 18 (1)(B), if all of the amounts in the Fund have not 19 been expended, investments of amounts in the Fund 20 shall be liquidated, the receipts of such liquidation 21 shall be deposited in the Fund, and all funds re- 22 maining in the Fund shall be deposited in the mis- 23 cellaneous receipts account in the Treasury. 24 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. -- There 25 are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 5 1 $100,000,000. Any amount appropriated pursuant to this 2 subsection is authorized to remain available until ex- 3 pended. 4 SEC. 4. CLAIMS ELIGIBLE FOR PAYMENT. 5 (a) IN GENERAL -- Any individual who, without the 6 individual's informed consent, was intentionally exposed to 7 radiation as a subject in an experiment of the Federal 8 Government at any time during the period beginning on 9 January 1, 1940, and ending on December 31, 1974, shall 10 receive $50,000 if -- 11 (1) a claim for such payment is filed with the 12 Attorney General by or on behalf of such individual; 13 and 14 (2) the Attorney General determines, in accord- 15 ance with section 5(b), that the claim meets the re- 16 quirements of this Act. 17 (b)DEFINITIONS. -- For purposes of this section: 18 (1) The term "experiment" means a test or 19 other action that is conducted primarily for research 20 purposes to determine the effect of exposure to radi- 21 ation on the human body. 22 (2) The term "exposed to radiation" means 23 caused to come into contact with any radioactive 24 substance or material by means including, but not 25 limited to, injection, ingestion, inhalation, or pre- 6 1 scription of, or sign exposure to, any radioactive 2 substance or material. 3 (3) The term "Federal Government" means--- 4 (A) the legislative, judicial, or executive 5 branch of the government of the United States, 6 or any agency or instrumentality of such a 7 branch; 8 (3) any person or entity whose actions re- 9 garding an experiment under which humans 10 were exposed to radiation were funded in any 11 manner, approved, authorized, supervised, or 12 contracted for, by an entity referred to in sub- 13 paragraph (A); or 14 (C) any person or entity that was funded 15 in any manner, approved, authorized, super- 16 vised, or contracted with, wholly or partially, by 17 an entity referred to in subparagraph (A) dur- 18 ing a time period in which an entity referred to 19 in subparagraph (A) had knowledge that such 20 person or entity was conducting any experiment 21 under which humans were exposed to radiations 22 (4) The term "informed consent" means con- 23 sent by an individual (or the individual's parent or 24 legal guardian, in the case of an individual who was 25 a minor or was incompetent at the relevant time), to 7 1 the individual's participation in an experiment, after 2 a full disclosure of the nature and purpose of the ex- 3 periment and its possible consequences that was suf- 4 ficient to allow the individual (or the individual's 5 parent or legal guardian, in the case of an individual 6 who was a minor or was incompetent at the relevant 7 time) to intelligently exercise judgment to decide 8 whether the individual should participate in the ex- 9 periment. 10 SEC. 5. DETERMINATION AND PAYMENT OF CLAIMS. 11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FILING PROCEDURES. -- The 12 Attorney General shall establish procedures under which 13 individuals may submit claims for payments under this 14 Act 15 (b)DETERMINATION OF CLAIMS. -- For each claim 16 filed under this Act, the Attorney General shall determine 17 whether the claim meets the requirements of section 4(a). 18 (c) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS. -- 19 (1) IN GENERAL. -- The Attorney General shall 20 pay, from amounts available in the Fund, each claim 21 that the Attorney General determines meets the re- 22 quirements of this Act. 23 (2) OFFSET OF PAYMENT. -- 24 (A) OFFSET OF PAYMENT MADE UNDER 25 THIS ACT. -- A payment under this Act to or on 8 l behalf of an individual described in section 4(a) 2 shall be offset by the amount of any payment 3 made to or on behalf of the individual pursuant 4 to a final award or settlement on a claim (other 5 than a claim for worker's compensation) 6 against any person, that is based on the individ- 7 ual's participation in an experiment that is the 8 basis for the payment under this Act, including 9 and payment under the Radiation Exposure 10 Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note). 11 (B) OFFSET OF PAYMENT MADE UNDER 12 RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT. -- 13 For purposes of section 6(c)(2) of the Radiation 14 Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 15 note), a payment made under this Act shall be 16 considered to be a final award or settlement on 17 a claim described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 18 of such section. 19 (3) RIGHT OF SUBROGATION. -- Upon payment 20 of a claim under this Section, the Federal Govern- 21 mentis subrogated, for the amount of the payment, 22 to a right or claim that the individual to whom the 23 payment was made may have against any person on 24 account of participation in an experiment that is the 25 basis for the payment made under this Act. 9 1 (4) PAYMENTS IN CASE OF DECEASED PER- 2 SONS. -- 3 (A) IN GENERAL. -- In the case of an indi- 4 vidual who is deceased at the time of payment 5 under this section, such payment may be made 6 only as follows: 7 (i) If the individual is survived by a 8 spouse who is living at the time of pay- 9 ment, such payment shall be made to such 10 surviving spouse. 11 (ii) If the individual is not survived by 12 a spouse described in clause (i), such pay. 13 ment shall be made in equal shares to the 14 children of the individual who are living at 15 the time of payment. 16 (iii) If the individual is not survived 17 by a person described in clause (i) or (ii), 18 such payment shall be made in equal 19 shares to the parents of the individual who 20 are living at the time of payment. 21 (iv) If the individual is not survived 22 by a person described in any of clauses (i) 23 through (iii), such payment shall be made 24 in equal shares to the grandchildren or the 10 1 individual who are living at the time of 2 payment 3 (v) If the individual is not survived by 4 a person designated in any of clauses (i) 5 through (iv), such payment shall be made 6 in equal shares to the siblings of the indi- 7 vidual who are living at the time of pay- 8 ment. 9 (vi) If the individual is not survived 10 by a person described in any of clauses (i) 11 through (v), then such payment shall be 12 made in equal shares to the grandparents 13 of the individual who are living at the time 14 of payment. 15 (B) FILING A CLAIM BY SURVIVOR. -- If 16 an individual eligible for payment under this 17 Act dies before filing a claim under this Act, a 18 survivor of the individual who may receive pay- 19 ment under subparagraph (A) may file a claim 20 for such payment on the individual's behalf. 21 (C) DEFINITIONS. -- For purposes of this 22 paragraph: 23 (i) The term "child" includes a rec- 24 ognized natural child, a stepchild who lived 11 1 with an individual in a regular parent-child 2 relationship, and an adopted child. 3 (ii) The term "grandchild of the indi- 4 vidual" means a child of a child of the in- 5 dividual. 6 (iii) The term "grandparent of the in- 7 dividual" means a parent of a parent of 8 the individual. 9 (iv) The term "parent" includes fa- 10 thers and mothers through adoption 11 (v) The term "sibling of the individ- 12 ual" means a child of the parent or par- 13 ents of the individual. 14 (vi) The term "spouse" means a per- 15 son who was marked to the relevant indi- 16 vidual for at least the 12 months imme- 17 diately preceding the death of the individ- 18 uals. 19 (d) ACTION ON CLAIMS. -- Within 18 months after the 20 fling of any claim under this Act-- 21 (1) the Attorney General shall make the deter- 22 mination required by subsection (b) regarding the 23 claim; and 24 (2) if the claim is determined to meet the re- 25 quirements of section 4(a), the Attorney General 12 1 shall make the payment required by subsection 2 (c)(1). 3 (e) SETTLEMENT IN FULL OF CLAIMS AGAINST 4 UNITED STATES. -- Payment under this Act, when accept- 5 ed by an individual, or the individual's survivors, shall be 6 in full satisfaction of all claims of or on behalf of the 7 individual against the United States that arise out of the 8 participation in the experiment that is the basis for the 9 payment made under this Act. 10 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS NOT DEDUCTED FROM 11 PAYMENT.---No costs incurred by the Attorney General in 12 carrying out this Act may be paid from, set off against, 13 or otherwise deducted from any payment made under sub- 14 section (c)(1). 15 (g) TERMINATION OF DUTIES OF ATTORNEY GEN- 16 ERAL. -- The duties of the Attorney General under this sec- 17 tion shall cease when the Fund terminates. 18 (h) TREATMENT OF PATIENTS UNDER OTHER 19 LAWS. -- A payment under subsection (c)(1) to an 20 individual -- 21 (1) shall be treated for purposes of the internal 22 revenue laws of the United States as damages for 23 human suffering; and 24 (2) shall not be considered as income or re- 25 sources for purposes of determining the individual's 13 1 eligibility to receive benefits described in section 2 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 3,1, United States Code, or the 3 amount of such benefits. 4 (i) USE OF EXISTING RESOURCES. -- The Attorney 5 General should, to the extent available, use funds and re- 6 sources available to the Attorney General to carry out the 7 Attorney General's functions under this Acts 8 (j) REGULATORY AUTHORITY. -- The Attorney Gen- 9 eral may issue regulations necessary to carry out this Act. 10 (k) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS AND PROCE- 11. DURES. -- The initial regulations and procedures to carry 12 out this Act shall be issued not later than 120 days after 13 the date of the enactment of this Act. 14 (l) JUDICIAL REVIEW. -- An individual whose claim 15 for compensation under this Act is denied may seek initial 16 judicial review solely in a district court of the United 17 States. The court shall review the denial on the adminis- 18 trative record and shall hold unlawful and set aside the 19 denial if it is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, 20 or otherwise not in accordance with law. Such an individ- 21 ual may appeal the decision of the district court to the 22 appropriate higher Federal courts. 23 SEC. 6. CLAIMS NOT ASSIGNABLE OR TRANSFERABLE. 24 No claim under this Act shall be assignable or trans- 25 ferable. 14 1 SEC. 7. LIMITATION OF CLAIMS. 2 An individual, or the individual's survivors, may not 3 receive payment under section 5(c) (I) unless a claim by 4 or on behalf of the individual is filed under this Act within 5 20 years after the date of the enactment of this Act 6 SEC. 8. ATTORNEY OR AGENT FEES. 7 The agent, attorney, or other representative of an in- 8 dividual or of an individual's survivor may not receive, for 9 services rendered in connection with a claim made under 10 this Act, an amount equal to more than 10 percent of the 11 payment made under this Act on such claim. Any person 12 who violates this section shall be guilty of an infraction 13 and shall be subject to a fine in the amount provided in 14 title 18, United States Code. 15 SEC. 3. CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT AFFECTED BY PAYMENT. 16 A payment made under section 5(c)(1) shall not be 17 considered a form of compensation, or reimbursement for 18 a loss, for purposes of imposing liability on the individual 19 who receives the payment to repay any insurance carrier 20 for insurance paymentS, or to repay any person on account 21 of worker's compensation payments. A payment under this 22 Act shall not affect any claim against an insurance carrier 23 with respect to insurance, or against any person with re- 24 spect to worker's compensation. 15 1 SEC. 10. BUDGET COMPLIANCE -- 2 No authority under this Act to enter into contracts 3 or to make payments shall be effective in any fiscal year 4 except to such extent or in such amounts as are provided 5 in advance in appropriations Acts.