| 1 | 1 | | I |
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| 2 | 2 | | 118THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 379 |
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| 5 | 5 | | To provide compensation to certain residents of the island of Vieques, Puerto |
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| 6 | 6 | | Rico, for the use of such island for military readiness, and for other purposes. |
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| 7 | 7 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 8 | 8 | | JANUARY17, 2023 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Mrs. G |
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| 10 | 10 | | ONZA´LEZ-COLO´Nintroduced the following bill; which was referred to |
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| 11 | 11 | | the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee |
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| 12 | 12 | | on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the |
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| 13 | 13 | | Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within |
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| 14 | 14 | | the jurisdiction of the committee concerned |
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| 15 | 15 | | A BILL |
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| 16 | 16 | | To provide compensation to certain residents of the island |
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| 17 | 17 | | of Vieques, Puerto Rico, for the use of such island for |
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| 18 | 18 | | military readiness, and for other purposes. |
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| 19 | 19 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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| 20 | 20 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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| 21 | 21 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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| 22 | 22 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vieques Recovery and 4 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Redevelopment Act of 2023’’. 5 |
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| 24 | 24 | | SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 |
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| 25 | 25 | | The Congress finds the following: 7 |
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| 27 | 27 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 |
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| 28 | 28 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 29 | 29 | | (1) Vieques is an island municipality of Puerto 1 |
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| 30 | 30 | | Rico, measuring approximately 21 miles long by 4 2 |
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| 31 | 31 | | miles wide, and located approximately 8 miles east 3 |
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| 32 | 32 | | of the main island of Puerto Rico. 4 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (2) Prior to Hurricane Maria, residents of 5 |
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| 34 | 34 | | Vieques were served by an urgent medical care facil-6 |
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| 35 | 35 | | ity, the Susana Centeno Family Health Center, and 7 |
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| 36 | 36 | | residents had to travel off-island to obtain medical 8 |
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| 37 | 37 | | services, including most types of emergency care be-9 |
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| 38 | 38 | | cause the facility did not have the basic use of x-ray 10 |
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| 39 | 39 | | machines, CT machines, EKG machines, 11 |
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| 40 | 40 | | ultrasounds, or PET scans. 12 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (3) The predominant means of transporting 13 |
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| 42 | 42 | | passengers and goods between Vieques and the main 14 |
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| 43 | 43 | | island of Puerto Rico is by ferry boat service, and 15 |
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| 44 | 44 | | over the years, the efficiency of this service has fre-16 |
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| 45 | 45 | | quently been disrupted, unreliable, and difficult for 17 |
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| 46 | 46 | | cancer patients to endure to receive treatment. Each 18 |
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| 47 | 47 | | trip to Ceiba, Puerto Rico, for the cancer patient is 19 |
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| 48 | 48 | | an additional out-of-pocket expense ranging from 20 |
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| 49 | 49 | | $120 to $200. 21 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (4) The United States Military maintained a 22 |
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| 51 | 51 | | presence on the eastern and western portions of 23 |
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| 52 | 52 | | Vieques for close to 60 years, and used parts of the 24 |
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| 53 | 53 | | island as a training range during those years, drop-25 |
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| 55 | 55 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 |
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| 56 | 56 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 57 | 57 | | ping over 80 million tons of ordnance and other 1 |
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| 58 | 58 | | weaponry available to the United States military 2 |
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| 59 | 59 | | since World War II. 3 |
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| 60 | 60 | | (5) The unintended, unknown, and unavoidable 4 |
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| 61 | 61 | | consequences of these exercises were to expose 5 |
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| 62 | 62 | | Americans living on the islands to the residue of 6 |
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| 63 | 63 | | that weaponry which includes heavy metals and 7 |
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| 64 | 64 | | many other chemicals now known to harm human 8 |
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| 65 | 65 | | health. 9 |
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| 66 | 66 | | (6) According to Government and independent 10 |
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| 67 | 67 | | documentation, the island of Vieques has high levels 11 |
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| 68 | 68 | | of heavy metals and has been exposed to chemical 12 |
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| 69 | 69 | | weapons and toxic chemicals. Since the military ac-13 |
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| 70 | 70 | | tivity in Vieques, island residents have suffered from 14 |
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| 71 | 71 | | the health impacts from long-term exposure to envi-15 |
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| 72 | 72 | | ronmental contamination as a result of 62 years of 16 |
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| 73 | 73 | | military operations, and have experienced higher 17 |
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| 74 | 74 | | rates of certain diseases among residents, including 18 |
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| 75 | 75 | | cancer, cirrhosis, hypertension, diabetes, heavy metal 19 |
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| 76 | 76 | | diseases, along with many unnamed and 20 |
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| 77 | 77 | | uncategorized illnesses. These toxic residues have 21 |
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| 78 | 78 | | caused the American residents of Vieques to develop 22 |
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| 79 | 79 | | illnesses due to ongoing exposure. 23 |
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| 80 | 80 | | (7) In 2017, Vieques was hit by Hurricane 24 |
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| 81 | 81 | | Maria, an unusually destructive storm that dev-25 |
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| 83 | 83 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 |
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| 84 | 84 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 85 | 85 | | astated Puerto Rico and intensified the existing hu-1 |
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| 86 | 86 | | manitarian crisis on the island by destroying existing 2 |
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| 87 | 87 | | medical facilities. 3 |
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| 88 | 88 | | (8) The medical systems in place prior to Hur-4 |
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| 89 | 89 | | ricane Maria were unable to properly handle the 5 |
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| 90 | 90 | | health crisis that existed due to the toxic residue left 6 |
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| 91 | 91 | | on the island by the military’s activities. 7 |
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| 92 | 92 | | (9) After Maria, the medical facility was closed 8 |
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| 93 | 93 | | due to damage and continues to be unable to per-9 |
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| 94 | 94 | | form even the few basic services that it did provide. 10 |
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| 95 | 95 | | Vieques needs a medical facility that can treat and 11 |
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| 96 | 96 | | address the critical and urgent need to get life-sav-12 |
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| 97 | 97 | | ing medical services to its residents. Due to legal re-13 |
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| 98 | 98 | | strictions, the Federal Emergency Management 14 |
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| 99 | 99 | | Agency (in this Act referred to as ‘‘FEMA’’) is un-15 |
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| 100 | 100 | | able to provide a hospital where its capabilities ex-16 |
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| 101 | 101 | | ceed the abilities of the facility that existed prior to 17 |
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| 102 | 102 | | Maria; therefore Vieques needs assistance to build a 18 |
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| 103 | 103 | | facility to manage the vast health needs of its resi-19 |
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| 104 | 104 | | dents. 20 |
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| 105 | 105 | | (10) Every American has benefitted from the 21 |
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| 106 | 106 | | sacrifices of those Americans who have lived and are 22 |
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| 107 | 107 | | living on Vieques and it is our intent to acknowledge 23 |
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| 108 | 108 | | that sacrifice and to treat those Americans with the 24 |
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| 110 | 110 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 |
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| 111 | 111 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 112 | 112 | | same respect and appreciation that other Americans 1 |
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| 113 | 113 | | enjoy. 2 |
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| 114 | 114 | | (11) In 2012, the residents of Vieques were de-3 |
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| 115 | 115 | | nied the ability to address their needs in Court due 4 |
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| 116 | 116 | | to sovereign immunity, Sa´nchez v. United States, 5 |
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| 117 | 117 | | No. 3:09–cv–01260–DRD (D.P.R.). However, the 6 |
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| 118 | 118 | | United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit 7 |
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| 119 | 119 | | referred the issue to Congress and urged it to ad-8 |
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| 120 | 120 | | dress the humanitarian crisis. This bill attempts to 9 |
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| 121 | 121 | | satisfy that request such that Americans living on 10 |
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| 122 | 122 | | Vieques have a remedy for the suffering they have 11 |
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| 123 | 123 | | endured. 12 |
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| 124 | 124 | | SEC. 3. SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED 13 |
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| 125 | 125 | | STATES FOR CERTAIN RESIDENTS OF THE IS-14 |
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| 126 | 126 | | LAND OF VIEQUES, PUERTO RICO. 15 |
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| 127 | 127 | | (a) I |
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| 128 | 128 | | NGENERAL.—An individual claimant who files 16 |
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| 129 | 129 | | a claim for compensation under this section with the Spe-17 |
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| 130 | 130 | | cial Master, appointed pursuant to subsection (c), shall be 18 |
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| 131 | 131 | | awarded monetary compensation as described in sub-19 |
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| 132 | 132 | | section (b) if— 20 |
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| 133 | 133 | | (1) the Special Master determines that the 21 |
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| 134 | 134 | | claimant is or was a resident, the child of a resident, 22 |
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| 135 | 135 | | or an immediate heir (as determined by the laws of 23 |
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| 136 | 136 | | Puerto Rico) of a deceased claimant on the island of 24 |
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| 137 | 137 | | Vieques, Puerto Rico, during or after the United 25 |
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| 139 | 139 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 |
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| 140 | 140 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 141 | 141 | | States Government used the island of Vieques, Puer-1 |
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| 142 | 142 | | to Rico, for military readiness; 2 |
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| 143 | 143 | | (2) the claimant previously filed a lawsuit or an 3 |
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| 144 | 144 | | administrative claim, or files a claim not later than 4 |
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| 145 | 145 | | 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 5 |
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| 146 | 146 | | against the United States Government for personal 6 |
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| 147 | 147 | | injury, including illness or death arising from use by 7 |
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| 148 | 148 | | the United States Government of the island of 8 |
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| 149 | 149 | | Vieques for military readiness; and 9 |
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| 150 | 150 | | (3) the claimant submits to the Special Master 10 |
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| 151 | 151 | | written medical documentation that indicates the 11 |
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| 152 | 152 | | claimant contracted a chronic, life threatening, or 12 |
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| 153 | 153 | | physical or mental disease or illness, including can-13 |
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| 154 | 154 | | cer, hypertension, cirrhosis, kidney disease, diabetes, 14 |
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| 155 | 155 | | or a heavy metal poisoning during or after the 15 |
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| 156 | 156 | | United States Government used the island of 16 |
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| 157 | 157 | | Vieques, Puerto Rico, for military readiness. 17 |
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| 158 | 158 | | (b) A |
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| 159 | 159 | | MOUNTS OFAWARD.— 18 |
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| 160 | 160 | | (1) I |
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| 161 | 161 | | N GENERAL.—A claimant who meets the 19 |
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| 162 | 162 | | requirements of subsection (a) shall be awarded 20 |
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| 163 | 163 | | compensation as follows: 21 |
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| 164 | 164 | | (A) $50,000 for 1 disease described in sub-22 |
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| 165 | 165 | | section (a)(3). 23 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (B) $80,000 for 2 diseases described in 24 |
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| 167 | 167 | | subsection (a)(3). 25 |
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| 169 | 169 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 |
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| 171 | 171 | | (C) $110,000 for 3 or more diseases de-1 |
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| 172 | 172 | | scribed in subsection (a)(3). 2 |
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| 173 | 173 | | (2) I |
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| 174 | 174 | | NCREASE IN AWARD .—In the case that an 3 |
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| 175 | 175 | | individual receiving an award under paragraph (1) 4 |
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| 176 | 176 | | of this subsection contracts another disease under 5 |
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| 177 | 177 | | subsection (a)(3) and files a new claim with the Spe-6 |
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| 178 | 178 | | cial Master for an additional award not later than 7 |
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| 179 | 179 | | 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 8 |
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| 180 | 180 | | the Special Master may award the individual an 9 |
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| 181 | 181 | | amount that is equal to the difference between— 10 |
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| 182 | 182 | | (A) the amount that the individual would 11 |
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| 183 | 183 | | have been eligible to receive had the disease 12 |
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| 184 | 184 | | been contracted before the individual filed an 13 |
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| 185 | 185 | | initial claim under subsection (a); and 14 |
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| 186 | 186 | | (B) the amount received by the individual 15 |
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| 187 | 187 | | pursuant to paragraph (1). 16 |
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| 188 | 188 | | (3) D |
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| 189 | 189 | | ECEASED CLAIMANTS .—In the case of an 17 |
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| 190 | 190 | | individual who dies before making a claim under this 18 |
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| 191 | 191 | | section or a claimant who dies before receiving an 19 |
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| 192 | 192 | | award under this section, any immediate heir to the 20 |
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| 193 | 193 | | individual or claimant, as determined by the laws of 21 |
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| 194 | 194 | | Puerto Rico, shall be eligible for 1 of the following 22 |
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| 195 | 195 | | awards: 23 |
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| 196 | 196 | | (A) Compensation in accordance with 24 |
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| 197 | 197 | | paragraph (1), divided among any such heir. 25 |
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| 199 | 199 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 |
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| 200 | 200 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 201 | 201 | | (B) Compensation based on the age of the 1 |
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| 202 | 202 | | deceased as follows: 2 |
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| 203 | 203 | | (i) In the case of an individual or 3 |
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| 204 | 204 | | claimant who dies before attaining 20 4 |
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| 205 | 205 | | years of age, $110,000, divided among any 5 |
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| 206 | 206 | | such heir. 6 |
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| 207 | 207 | | (ii) In the case of an individual or 7 |
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| 208 | 208 | | claimant who dies before attaining 40 8 |
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| 209 | 209 | | years of age, $80,000, divided among any 9 |
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| 210 | 210 | | such heir. 10 |
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| 211 | 211 | | (iii) In the case of an individual or 11 |
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| 212 | 212 | | claimant who dies before attaining 60 12 |
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| 213 | 213 | | years of age, $50,000, divided among any 13 |
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| 214 | 214 | | such heir. 14 |
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| 215 | 215 | | (c) A |
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| 216 | 216 | | PPOINTMENT OFSPECIALMASTER.— 15 |
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| 217 | 217 | | (1) I |
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| 218 | 218 | | N GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 16 |
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| 219 | 219 | | appoint a Special Master not later than 90 days 17 |
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| 220 | 220 | | after the date of the enactment of this Act to con-18 |
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| 221 | 221 | | sider claims by individuals and the Municipality. 19 |
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| 222 | 222 | | (2) Q |
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| 223 | 223 | | UALIFICATIONS.—The Attorney General 20 |
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| 224 | 224 | | shall consider the following in choosing the Special 21 |
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| 225 | 225 | | Master: 22 |
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| 226 | 226 | | (A) The individual’s experience in the proc-23 |
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| 227 | 227 | | essing of victims’ claims in relation to foreign 24 |
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| 228 | 228 | | or domestic governments. 25 |
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| 232 | 232 | | (B) The individual’s balance of experience 1 |
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| 233 | 233 | | in representing the interests of the United 2 |
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| 234 | 234 | | States and individual claimants. 3 |
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| 235 | 235 | | (C) The individual’s experience in matters 4 |
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| 236 | 236 | | of national security. 5 |
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| 237 | 237 | | (D) The individual’s demonstrated abilities 6 |
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| 238 | 238 | | in investigation and fact findings in complex 7 |
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| 239 | 239 | | factual matters. 8 |
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| 240 | 240 | | (E) Any experience the individual has had 9 |
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| 241 | 241 | | advising the United States Government. 10 |
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| 242 | 242 | | (d) A |
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| 243 | 243 | | WARDAMOUNTSRELATED TOCLAIMS BY THE 11 |
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| 244 | 244 | | M |
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| 245 | 245 | | UNICIPALITY OFVIEQUES.— 12 |
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| 246 | 246 | | (1) A |
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| 247 | 247 | | WARD.—The Special Master, in exchange 13 |
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| 248 | 248 | | for its administrative claims, shall provide the fol-14 |
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| 249 | 249 | | lowing as compensation to the Municipality of 15 |
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| 250 | 250 | | Vieques: 16 |
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| 251 | 251 | | (A) S |
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| 252 | 252 | | TAFF.—The Special Master shall pro-17 |
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| 253 | 253 | | vide medical staff, and other resources nec-18 |
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| 254 | 254 | | essary to build and operate a level three trauma 19 |
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| 255 | 255 | | center (in this section, referred to as ‘‘medical 20 |
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| 256 | 256 | | facility’’) with a cancer center and renal dialysis 21 |
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| 257 | 257 | | unit and its equipment. The medical facility 22 |
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| 258 | 258 | | shall be able to treat life threatening, chronic, 23 |
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| 259 | 259 | | heavy metal, and physical and mental diseases. 24 |
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| 260 | 260 | | The medical facility shall be able to provide 25 |
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| 262 | 262 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 |
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| 263 | 263 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 264 | 264 | | basic x-ray, EKG, internal medicine expertise, 1 |
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| 265 | 265 | | medical coordination personnel and case man-2 |
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| 266 | 266 | | agers, ultrasound, and resources necessary to 3 |
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| 267 | 267 | | screen residents for cancer and the other pre-4 |
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| 268 | 268 | | vailing health problems. 5 |
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| 269 | 269 | | (B) O |
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| 270 | 270 | | PERATIONS.—The Special Master 6 |
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| 271 | 271 | | shall fund the operations of the medical facility 7 |
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| 272 | 272 | | to provide medical care for pediatric and adult 8 |
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| 273 | 273 | | patients who reside on the island of Vieques, al-9 |
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| 274 | 274 | | lowing the patients to be referred for tertiary 10 |
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| 275 | 275 | | and quaternary health care facilities when nec-11 |
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| 276 | 276 | | essary, and providing the transportation and 12 |
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| 277 | 277 | | medical costs when traveling off the island of 13 |
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| 278 | 278 | | Vieques, until such time as medical testing es-14 |
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| 279 | 279 | | tablishes that the disease levels are reduced to 15 |
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| 280 | 280 | | the average in the United States. 16 |
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| 281 | 281 | | (C) A |
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| 282 | 282 | | DMINISTRATIVE EXPERTISE .—The 17 |
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| 283 | 283 | | Special Master shall ensure that the Adminis-18 |
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| 284 | 284 | | trator of FEMA provides all administrative and 19 |
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| 285 | 285 | | technical expertise and oversight in the bidding 20 |
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| 286 | 286 | | and construction of the facility but the design 21 |
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| 287 | 287 | | and abilities of the hospital shall be determined 22 |
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| 288 | 288 | | by the Special Master considering the medical 23 |
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| 289 | 289 | | and research needs of the residents of the is-24 |
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| 291 | 291 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 |
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| 292 | 292 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 293 | 293 | | land of Vieques. All costs shall be part of the 1 |
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| 294 | 294 | | municipality’s compensation. 2 |
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| 295 | 295 | | (D) I |
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| 296 | 296 | | NTERIM SERVICES.—Before the med-3 |
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| 297 | 297 | | ical facility on the island of Vieques is oper-4 |
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| 298 | 298 | | ational, the Special Master shall provide— 5 |
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| 299 | 299 | | (i) urgent health care air transport to 6 |
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| 300 | 300 | | hospitals on the mainland of Puerto Rico 7 |
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| 301 | 301 | | from the island of Vieques; 8 |
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| 302 | 302 | | (ii) medical coordination personnel 9 |
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| 303 | 303 | | and case managers; 10 |
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| 304 | 304 | | (iii) telemedicine communication abili-11 |
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| 305 | 305 | | ties; and 12 |
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| 306 | 306 | | (iv) any other services that are nec-13 |
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| 307 | 307 | | essary to alleviate the health crisis on the 14 |
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| 308 | 308 | | island of Vieques. 15 |
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| 309 | 309 | | (E) S |
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| 310 | 310 | | CREENING.—The Special Master 16 |
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| 311 | 311 | | shall make available, at no cost to the patient, 17 |
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| 312 | 312 | | medical screening for cancer, cirrhosis, diabetes, 18 |
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| 313 | 313 | | and heavy metal contamination on the island of 19 |
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| 314 | 314 | | Vieques. 20 |
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| 315 | 315 | | (F) A |
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| 316 | 316 | | CADEMIC PARTNER .—The Special 21 |
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| 317 | 317 | | Master shall appoint an academic partner, with 22 |
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| 318 | 318 | | appropriate experience and an established rela-23 |
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| 319 | 319 | | tionship with the Municipality of Vieques 24 |
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| 320 | 320 | | shall— 25 |
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| 322 | 322 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 |
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| 323 | 323 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 324 | 324 | | (i) lead a research and outreach en-1 |
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| 325 | 325 | | deavor on behalf of the Municipality of 2 |
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| 326 | 326 | | Vieques; 3 |
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| 327 | 327 | | (ii) select the appropriate scientific ex-4 |
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| 328 | 328 | | pertise and administer defined studies, 5 |
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| 329 | 329 | | conducting testing and evaluation of the 6 |
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| 330 | 330 | | soils, seas, plant and animal food sources, 7 |
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| 331 | 331 | | and the health of residents; and 8 |
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| 332 | 332 | | (iii) determine and implement the 9 |
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| 333 | 333 | | most efficient and effective way to reduce 10 |
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| 334 | 334 | | the environmental toxins to a level suffi-11 |
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| 335 | 335 | | cient to return the soils, seas, food sources, 12 |
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| 336 | 336 | | and health circumstances to a level that re-13 |
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| 337 | 337 | | duces the diseases on the island of Vieques 14 |
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| 338 | 338 | | to the average in the United States. 15 |
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| 339 | 339 | | (G) D |
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| 340 | 340 | | UTIES.—The Special Master shall 16 |
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| 341 | 341 | | provide amounts necessary for the academic 17 |
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| 342 | 342 | | partner and medical coordinator to carry out 18 |
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| 343 | 343 | | the duties described in subparagraphs (A) 19 |
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| 344 | 344 | | through (D). 20 |
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| 345 | 345 | | (H) P |
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| 346 | 346 | | ROCUREMENT.—The Special Master 21 |
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| 347 | 347 | | shall provide amounts necessary to compensate 22 |
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| 348 | 348 | | the Municipality of Vieques for— 23 |
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| 349 | 349 | | (i) contractual procurement obliga-24 |
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| 350 | 350 | | tions and additional expenses incurred by 25 |
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| 352 | 352 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 |
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| 353 | 353 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 354 | 354 | | the Municipality as a result of the enact-1 |
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| 355 | 355 | | ment of this section and settlement of its 2 |
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| 356 | 356 | | claim; and 3 |
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| 357 | 357 | | (ii) any other damages and costs to be 4 |
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| 358 | 358 | | incurred by the Municipality, if the Special 5 |
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| 359 | 359 | | Master determines that it is necessary to 6 |
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| 360 | 360 | | carry out the purpose of this section. 7 |
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| 361 | 361 | | (I) C |
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| 362 | 362 | | ONSULTING FIRMS .—The Special 8 |
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| 363 | 363 | | Master shall provide amounts necessary for the 9 |
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| 364 | 364 | | Special Master to contract with consulting 10 |
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| 365 | 365 | | firms for technical advice on any aspect of the 11 |
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| 366 | 366 | | Special Master’s duties. 12 |
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| 367 | 367 | | (J) P |
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| 368 | 368 | | OWER SOURCE.—The Special Master 13 |
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| 369 | 369 | | shall determine the best source of producing 14 |
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| 370 | 370 | | independent power on the island of Vieques that 15 |
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| 371 | 371 | | is hurricane resilient and can effectively sustain 16 |
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| 372 | 372 | | the needs of the island and shall authorize such 17 |
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| 373 | 373 | | construction as an award to the Municipality of 18 |
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| 374 | 374 | | Vieques. 19 |
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| 375 | 375 | | (2) S |
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| 376 | 376 | | OURCE.—Amounts awarded under this Act 20 |
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| 377 | 377 | | shall be made from amounts appropriated under sec-21 |
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| 378 | 378 | | tion 1304 of title 31, United States Code, commonly 22 |
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| 379 | 379 | | known as the ‘‘Judgment Fund’’, as if claims were 23 |
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| 380 | 380 | | adjudicated by a United States District Court under 24 |
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| 381 | 381 | | section 1346(b) of title 28, United States Code. 25 |
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| 383 | 383 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 |
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| 384 | 384 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 385 | 385 | | (3) DETERMINATION AND PAYMENT OF 1 |
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| 386 | 386 | | CLAIMS.— 2 |
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| 387 | 387 | | (A) E |
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| 388 | 388 | | STABLISHMENT OF FILING PROCE -3 |
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| 389 | 389 | | DURES.—The Attorney General shall establish 4 |
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| 390 | 390 | | procedures whereby individuals and the Munici-5 |
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| 391 | 391 | | pality may submit claims for payments under 6 |
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| 392 | 392 | | this section to the Special Master. 7 |
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| 393 | 393 | | (B) D |
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| 394 | 394 | | ETERMINATION OF CLAIMS .—The 8 |
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| 395 | 395 | | Special Master shall, in accordance with this 9 |
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| 396 | 396 | | subsection, determine whether each claim meets 10 |
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| 397 | 397 | | the requirements of this section. Claims filed by 11 |
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| 398 | 398 | | residents of the island of Vieques that have 12 |
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| 399 | 399 | | been disposed of by a court under chapter 171 13 |
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| 400 | 400 | | of title 28, United States Code, shall be treated 14 |
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| 401 | 401 | | as if such claims are currently filed. 15 |
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| 402 | 402 | | (e) A |
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| 403 | 403 | | CTION ONCLAIMS.—The Special Master shall 16 |
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| 404 | 404 | | make a determination on any claim filed under the proce-17 |
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| 405 | 405 | | dures established under this section not later than 150 18 |
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| 406 | 406 | | days after the date on which the claim is filed. 19 |
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| 407 | 407 | | (f) P |
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| 408 | 408 | | AYMENT INFULLSETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS BY 20 |
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| 409 | 409 | | I |
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| 410 | 410 | | NDIVIDUALS AND THE MUNICIPALITY OF VIEQUES 21 |
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| 411 | 411 | | A |
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| 412 | 412 | | GAINST THEUNITEDSTATES.—The acceptance by an 22 |
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| 413 | 413 | | individual or the Municipality of Vieques of a payment of 23 |
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| 414 | 414 | | an award under this section shall— 24 |
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| 415 | 415 | | (1) be final and conclusive; 25 |
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| 417 | 417 | | kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 15 |
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| 418 | 418 | | •HR 379 IH |
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| 419 | 419 | | (2) be deemed to be in full satisfaction of all 1 |
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| 420 | 420 | | claims under chapter 171 of title 28, United States 2 |
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| 421 | 421 | | Code; and 3 |
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| 422 | 422 | | (3) constitute a complete release by the indi-4 |
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| 423 | 423 | | vidual or Municipality of such claim against the 5 |
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| 424 | 424 | | United States and against any employee of the 6 |
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| 425 | 425 | | United States acting in the scope of employment 7 |
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| 426 | 426 | | who is involved in the matter giving rise to the 8 |
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| 427 | 427 | | claim. 9 |
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| 428 | 428 | | (g) C |
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| 429 | 429 | | ERTIFICATION OFTREATMENT OF PAYMENTS 10 |
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| 430 | 430 | | U |
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| 431 | 431 | | NDEROTHERLAWS.—Amounts paid to an individual 11 |
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| 432 | 432 | | under this section— 12 |
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| 433 | 433 | | (1) shall be treated for purposes of the laws of 13 |
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| 434 | 434 | | the United States as damages for human suffering; 14 |
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| 435 | 435 | | and 15 |
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| 436 | 436 | | (2) may not be included as income or resources 16 |
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| 437 | 437 | | for purposes of determining eligibility to receive ben-17 |
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| 438 | 438 | | efits described in section 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31, 18 |
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| 439 | 439 | | United States Code, or the amount of such benefits. 19 |
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| 440 | 440 | | Æ |
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