Agreement was reached today on a landmark compensation plan for a heroic group of Cold War Warriors from Oak Ridge and other DOE nuclear facilities that were exposed to high levels of radiation and other harmful substances.
The defense authorization conference report, which is expected to be formalized Friday morning, sets up the framework for a plan that would give workers $150,000 lump sum payments and provide medical treatment for debilitating illnesses they contracted while working to boost this nation?s nuclear arsenal.
"It is a miracle that we were able to get a compensation bill approved by Congress in one year," Wamp said. It is virtually unprecedented because huge programs involving mandatory spending usually take years to pass Congress. But the grave nature of the workers' illnesses and the seriousness of the government's acknowledgement that it put its own workers in jeopardy while it hid the dangers was the momentum that made this compensation plan possible.
"The sick workers have been the real heroes in this effort," Wamp said. "Our Oak Ridge workers have been the only ones who have repeatedly come to Washington to meet with Members of Congress, Committee and Member staff to tell their stories."
