[Health&Healing] White House Brawl Over Weapons Workers

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Misty L. Trepke

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White House in Brawl Over Weapons Workers

Tue Aug 31, 2:22 AM ET

By NANCY ZUCKERBROD, Associated Press Writer

 

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is locked in a rare

election-year fight with fellow Republicans in the Senate over a

troubled program for tens of thousands of weapons plant workers who

got sick building nuclear bombs.

 

The lawmakers say they don't understand why the administration is

blocking a Senate-passed amendment to the defense bill that would

overhaul a compensation program bogged down by delays and other

problems.

 

" I can't fully understand what their resistance is, " said Sen. Lisa

Murkowski (news, bio, voting record), who is in a tough re-election

battle in Alaska. " We've been hammered by our constituents. "

 

Many of the workers are from battleground states in the upcoming

presidential election, including Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico, Ohio

and Washington state.

 

" These people are sick and dying, " said Terrie Barrie of Craig,

Colo., whose husband was sickened while working at the former Rocky

Flats plant near Denver. " The administration, the Department of

Energy (news - web sites), is just refusing to listen. "

 

The Senate proposal would streamline the compensation process by

having the government pay claims directly rather than having Energy

Department contractors do it and later reimbursing them. It also

would move the program from the Energy Department to the Labor

Department (news - web sites) and require the government to perform

environmental studies of plants.

 

The lawmakers complain the Energy Department has squandered much of

the $95 million it received since Congress created the program. As

of the end of July, the agency has paid only 31 claims out of about

25,000 filed. The $700,000 in paid claims amounts to an average

benefit of roughly $22,500.

 

Administration officials declined to comment on their opposition to

the Senate measure, except to point to a statement by the White

House budget office citing concerns that a change would create

an " unworkable process, " cause more delays, increase costs and

expand the program's scope.

 

Senators say their bill does not add new benefits, but would ensure

that more workers eligible for compensation get it.

 

House members appear to be siding with the administration.

 

Rep. Zach Wamp (news, bio, voting record), R-Tenn., said changing

who runs the program would cause more delays. He also expressed

concern about GOP members in Congress feuding with a Republican

administration during a presidential election year.

 

Harry Williams, a former worker at the Energy Department's Oak

Ridge, Tenn., facility, said he is a Republican who doesn't plan to

vote for Bush this November as long as the administration continues

to oppose the changes workers want.

 

" I voted for him last time, but this time around I don't think I

will, " Williams said. " As it comes to dealing with the working guy,

his administration doesn't have a feel for it. "

 

Democrats are generally trying to steer clear of politicizing the

issue.

 

The tension between GOP lawmakers and the administration was

highlighted a month ago when the White House announced the recess

appointment of Susan Grant as the Energy Department's chief

financial officer.

 

Sen. Jim Bunning (news, bio, voting record), R-Ky., had been

blocking her nomination to protest the department's handling of the

compensation program. President Bush (news - web sites) made the

appointment while Congress was in recess, skirting the need for

Senate confirmation.

 

The workers were exposed to toxic substances such as radiation,

heavy metals, asbestos and harsh solvents and acids while employed

by Energy Department contractors. They often were not told what they

were working with and did not have adequate protections.

 

" These are our Cold War veterans, " said Sen. Lamar Alexander (news -

web sites), R-Tenn. " They were working in an environment that they

thought was safe. It wasn't safe. "

 

Other influential Republican senators who support the overhaul

include Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, Energy Committee

Chairman Pete Domenici of New Mexico, Appropriations Committee

Chairman Ted Stevens of Alaska and Finance Committee Chairman

Charles Grassley of Iowa.

 

The proposal to help the workers is part of a defense bill passed by

the Senate, but it is not included in a House-passed version. GOP

senators are trying to persuade House members to include the changes

in the final bill, but their efforts have been opposed by the Bush

administration.

 

Congress passed a law four years ago directing the Energy Department

to help the workers file claims for lost wages and medical benefits

under state worker compensation systems. That reversed a decades-old

practice in which the government helped contractors fight the

workers' claims.

 

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