{"format":1,"id":"118-s-3853","congress":118,"number":"S. 3853","kind":"bill","group":"bills","title":"Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act","title_source":"Short Title(s) as Passed Senate","official_title":"A bill to extend the period for filing claims under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act and to provide for compensation under such Act for claims relating to Manhattan Project waste, and to improve compensation for workers involved in uranium mining.","titles":[{"type":"Official Title as Introduced","title":"A bill to extend the period for filing claims under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act and to provide for compensation under such Act for claims relating to Manhattan Project waste, and to improve compensation for workers involved in uranium mining."},{"type":"Short Title(s) from PCS (Placed on Senate Calendar) bill text","title":"Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act"},{"type":"Short Titles for portions of this bill from PCS (Placed on Senate Calendar) bill text","title":"Radiation Exposure Compensation Expansion Act"},{"type":"Short Titles for portions of this bill from PCS (Placed on Senate Calendar) bill text","title":"Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2024"},{"type":"Display Title","title":"Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Passed Senate for portions of this bill","title":"Radiation Exposure Compensation Expansion Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Passed Senate for portions of this bill","title":"Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2024"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Passed Senate","title":"Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act"}],"outcome":"passed_senate","law_number":null,"introduced":"2024-02-29","chambers":{"house":{"status":"na","date":null,"vote":null},"senate":{"status":"roll_call","date":"2024-03-07","vote":{"id":"118-2024-s75","question":"On Passage of the Bill","title":"S. 3853","result":"Bill Passed","yea":69,"nay":30,"present":0,"not_voting":1,"source":"https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1182/vote_118_2_00075.xml"}}},"president":{"status":"na","date":null},"vice_president_tie_breaker":null,"latest_action":{"text":"Held at the desk.","date":"2024-03-11"},"nominees":null,"amendments":[],"other_votes":[],"crs_summary":{"date":"2024-03-07","stage":"Passed Senate","blocks":[{"k":"h","t":"Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act"},{"k":"p","t":"This bill reauthorizes and expands programs that compensate individuals who were exposed to radiation during certain nuclear testing or uranium mining and who subsequently developed medical conditions, including cancers."},{"k":"p","t":"Under current law, compensation is payable to individuals based on requirements including the (1) dates when exposure occurred, (2) duration of exposure, (3) type of exposure, and (4) resulting medical condition."},{"k":"p","t":"Among other changes to this program, the bill (1) extends the eligible dates when qualifying atmospheric exposure occurred, (2) authorizes compensation to individuals with combined work histories in uranium mining, (3) adds core drilling as an eligible mining occupation, and (4) increases the amount of compensation awarded to qualifying individuals."},{"k":"p","t":"The bill also expands this program to compensate individuals located in specified areas in Alaska, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee associated with waste from the Manhattan Project and who subsequently developed specified types of cancer."},{"k":"p","t":"The bill extends until five years after this bill's enactment the statute of limitations for the filing of claims."},{"k":"p","t":"The bill also expands eligibility under an existing occupational illness compensation program for former Department of Energy employees."},{"k":"p","t":"The bill also establishes a grant program for institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among individuals without occupational exposure."},{"k":"p","t":"The bill directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report to Congress on the unmet medical benefits coverage for individuals who were exposed to radiation in atmospheric nuclear tests conducted by the federal government."}],"words":248},"summary":{"main_subject":{"text":"Amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to add compensation for claims relating to Manhattan Project waste, change the eligibility and payment terms for atmospheric testing and uranium mining claims, and extend the filing period.","cites":[{"label":"Sec. 102","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es#toc-id30c5c815a0eb48d4a4f9ab94b7b53351:~:text=102.%20Claims%20relating%20to%20Manhattan%20Project%20waste"},{"label":"Sec. 204","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es#toc-HB0C12E4B7F63414F86B3B297BCFA56D:~:text=204.%20Claims%20relating%20to%20atmospheric%20testing"},{"label":"Sec. 205","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es#toc-H15EC6E94604849EF880094E09B529C00:~:text=205.%20Claims%20relating%20to%20uranium%20mining"},{"label":"Sec. 207","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es#toc-HD25F3C859E634098AE2D13FB60F13F00:~:text=207.%20Limitation%20on%20claims"}]},"core_areas":["Compensation for claims relating to Manhattan Project waste","Compensation for atmospheric nuclear testing claims","Compensation for uranium mining, milling, core drilling and ore transport workers","Filing period, resubmittal and additional payments under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act","Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program coverage for uranium workers","Grants and studies on radiation exposure"],"what_it_does":[{"text":"Adds a claim under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act for people physically present for at least 2 years after January 1, 1949 in listed ZIP Codes in Missouri, Tennessee, Alaska and Kentucky who later contracted a specified disease, paying a living claimant the greater of $50,000 or documented out-of-pocket medical expenses.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 102","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es#toc-id30c5c815a0eb48d4a4f9ab94b7b53351:~:text=102.%20Claims%20relating%20to%20Manhattan%20Project%20waste"}},{"text":"Changes atmospheric testing claims by moving the end date from October 31, 1958 to November 6, 1962, adding physical presence periods for New Mexico and Guam, and setting the payment for leukemia and specified disease claims at $100,000.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 204","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es#toc-HB0C12E4B7F63414F86B3B297BCFA56D:~:text=204.%20Claims%20relating%20to%20atmospheric%20testing"}},{"text":"Changes uranium mining claims by extending the employment period from December 31, 1971 to December 31, 1990, adding core drillers, adding renal cancer and chronic renal disease, and allowing combined work histories in two or more positions.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 205","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es#toc-H15EC6E94604849EF880094E09B529C00:~:text=205.%20Claims%20relating%20to%20uranium%20mining"}},{"text":"Extends the time for filing claims from 2 years to 5 years, allows a denied claimant to resubmit up to three times, and requires payment of the difference to claimants already compensated.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 207","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es#toc-HD25F3C859E634098AE2D13FB60F13F00:~:text=207.%20Limitation%20on%20claims"}},{"text":"Requires the Attorney General to accept sworn affidavits from another person as evidence of employment history, physical presence in an affected area, and onsite participation in atmospheric tests, and to issue revised regulations within 180 days.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 206","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es#toc-H931EBAA8161140329541A02E8B38DF3B:~:text=206.%20Expansion%20of%20use%20of%20affidavits%20in"}},{"text":"Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a grant program, run through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling, and authorizes $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2026.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 208","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es#toc-id0EF091CAB7774C69AA5986CBC2EDE34B:~:text=208.%20Grant%20program%20on%20epidemiological%20impacts%20of"}}],"unexpected":[{"category":"named_funding","items":[{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 103","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es#toc-idbf90ee95b14e48ea89ea9f435dedebb3:~:text=103.%20Cooperative%20agreement"},"heading":"Cooperative agreement","effect":"Requires the Secretary of Energy to award a cooperative agreement by September 30, 2024 to an eligible association to support human and ecological health at the Amchitka, Alaska, Site. No dollar amount is stated.","amount":null,"quote":"shall award to an eligible association a cooperative agreement to support the safeguarding of human and ecological health at the Amchitka, Alaska, Site"}]}],"version":{"type":"Engrossed in Senate","date":"2024-03-07","rule":"passed","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text/es"},"current":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","approved":"2026-10-02","approved_by":"checks"},"sources":{"congress_gov":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853","text":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3853/text"},"card":{"image":"card/item/118-s-3853.png","v":"5406098e1a12","alt":"Votes on Record. S. 3853, 118th Congress: Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act. Senate: 69 Yea, 30 Nay. Outcome: Passed Senate, 7 Mar 2024."}}