??nitr? Butts Brnatr

WASHINGTON, DC 20510
December 13, 2017

The Honorable R. Alexander Acosta
Secretary

US Department of Labor

200 Constitution Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC. 20210

Dear Secretary Acosta:

We write in support of the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health (Advisory
Board) and the important contributions it has made in assisting the US. Department of Labor
(DOL) with Part of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act
(EEOICPA) program. We commend you for continuing the Advisory Board by seeking
nominations for individuals to serve on the Advisory Board, and urge you to reappoint all current
members who wish to continue to serve on the Advisory Board. Further, we request that you
maintain balance on the Advisory Board and ensure there is equal representation from the
scienti?c, medical, and claimant communities.

Congress created the Advisory Board in the Carl Levin and Howard P. ?Buck? McKeon National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (PL. 113-291) in 2014 and DOL established the
Advisory Board under this authority and Executive Order 13699. On April 1, 2016, DOL
appointed 15 members to a two-year term. The inaugural Advisory Board included ?ve members
from the scienti?c community, ?ve members from the medical community, and ?ve members
from the claimant community, including Kirk D. Domina of the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades
Council and a long-time worker at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation (Hanford) in Washington
state.

Since April 2016, the Advisory Board has been instrumental in helping improve Part of the
EEOICPA program and process for current and former workers at Hanford and across the nation
to gain the health care and bene?ts they have earned through their service during the Manhattan
Project, World War 11, Cold War, and subsequent nuclear waste cleanup mission. The Advisory
Board has held ?ve full board meetings and 17 subcommittee and working group meetings,
which have resulted in over 18 recommendations to DOL. These recommendations have strong
scienti?c and medical rationale and are thoroughly debated. We were pleased that the April 2017
full board meeting occurred in Richland, Washington, which allowed us to experience ?rsthand
the Advisory Board?s work and impact.

As senators from the State of Washington, the EEOICPA program is vital to many of our
constituents who have and continue to work at Hanford in extremely hazardous conditions. Part
of the EEOICPA program provides workers? compensation and medical payments when
exposure to toxic substances aggravated, contributed to, or caused the injury or illness. The
reviews and recommendations by the Advisory Board have and would continue to improve Part
of the EEOICPA program for workers nationwide.

Therefore, we strongly support reappointing the Advisory Board members who are seeking to
serve another term. Further, we encourage you?to expeditiously complete the process of selecting
members so that the Advisory Board can continue to work to improve Part of the EEOICPA
program to ensure former and current workers receive the health care and bene?ts they have
earned through their dedicated service to the United States.

We thank you in advance for your attention to this important worker health and safety issue.

 

 

Sincerely,
i: 
Patty mnay 0 Maria Cantwell

United States Senator United States Senator