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  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,

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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, 2000.

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