Congressman Zach Wamp and five other House members are calling for prompt hearings on a bill to compensate workers made ill from their service at U.S. Department of Energy nuclear facilities in Oak Ridge and elsewhere.

Wamp and the others made the request in a letter to U.S. Rep. Bill Goodling, R-Pa., chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee and U.S. Rep. Bill Clay, D-Mo., the senior Democrat on the committee.

"Several members of Congress, including me discussed the need for a prompt hearing on the bill (H.R. 4398) during an exchange on the floor of the House last month," Wamp said. "We were also able to add an amendment calling for hearings this year to the Defense Authorization bill and get commitments for prompt action from Chairman Goodling and two other key committee chairmen. This letter to Chairman Goodling and Mr. Clay reinforces our strong belief that we need to act to help these workers without delay."

"These men and women served our nation loyally and well during the Cold War, and it's high time that the federal government did its duty to them," Wamp said.

H.R. 4398 would provide compensation to employees of firms that worked at DOE facilities under contract with the government or furnished goods or services to the facilities.

Writing to Goodling and Clay, Wamp and the others said. "Each of us represents current or former employees at DOE facilities and/or testing sites who were exposed to radiation, silica, beryllium or other hazardous substances without their knowledge.

"Many of these employees have already died, and many currently suffer from diseases directly attributable to their exposure to these harmful materials. State Worker's Compensation programs often result in the automatic denial of claims, a lengthy filing and appeals process, and inadequate compensation for the suffering and medical costs incurred by the claimant. For these reasons, we urge your expeditious consideration of H.R. 4398."

The letter was signed by Wamp and U.S. Reps. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky.; Ted Strickland, D-Ohio; Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa.; Mark Udall, D-Co., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nevada.

In May Wamp and other allies had obtained commitments for action this from Goodling and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Floyd Spence and Congressman Duncan Hunter, who is chairman of the military procurement subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee.