S.Amdt. 1459

SA 1459. Mr. NELSON of Florida submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 1042, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2006 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe personnel strengths for such fiscal year for the Armed Forces, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 378, between lines 10 and 11, insert the following:

SEC. 3114. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING INTERIM REPORTS ON RESIDUAL BERYLLIUM CONTAIMINATION AT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY VENDOR FACILITIES.

(a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:

(1) Section 3169 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (Public Law 108-375; 42 U.S.C. 7384 note) requires the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to submit, not later than December 31, 2006, an update to the October 2003 report of the Institute on residual beryllium contamination at Department of Energy vendor facilities.

(2) The American Beryllium Company, Tallevast, Florida, machined beryllium for the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Y-12, Tennessee, and Rocky Flats, Colorado, facilities from 1967 until 1992.

(3) The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has completed its evaluation of residual beryllium contamination at the American Beryllium Company.

(4) Claimants from American Beryllium Company need to know whether residual beryllium was present at the American Beryllium Company facility before or after the dates of coverage established by the Department of Energy and the Department of Labor in order to evaluate the need for further legislative action.

(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate to urge the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health--

(1) to provide to Congress interim reports of residual beryllium contamination at facilities not later than 14 days after completing the internal review of such reports; and

(2) to publish in the Federal Register summaries of the findings of such reports, including the dates of any significant residual beryllium contamination, at such time as the reports are provided to Congress under paragraph (1).