DENNIS W. SHEDD, Chief Counsel and Staff Director MARK H. GITENSTEIN, Minority Chief Counsel CONTENTS Page S. 2454-A bill to repeal section 1631 of the Department of Defense Authori- zation Act, 1985, relating to the liability of government contractors for injuries or losses of property arising out of certain atomic weapons testing programs, and for other purposes. H.R. 1338-An act to amend title 28, United States Code, to allow suits against the United States for acts or omissions of contractors in carrying out the atomic weapons testing program, and to substitute the United States as the party defendant in suits brought against such contractors......... CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES Boucher, Hon. Rick, a Representative in Congress from the State of Virginia... Domenici, Hon. Pete, a U.S. Senator from the State of New Mexico.... Willard, Richard K., Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, Department of Justice; and Don Ofte, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs, Department of Energy....... Legarreta, Dorothy, administrative director, National Association of Radi- ation Survivors, accompanied by Dale Haralson; William A. Fletcher, pro- fessor of law, University of California, on behalf of the National Coalition for Radiation Victims; Paul S. Egan, deputy director, National Legislative Commission, and Robert S. Faron, Barnett & Alagia, on behalf of the National Association of Atomic Veterans Welber, Irwin, president, Sandia National Laboratories, accompanied by Philip E. Coyle III, executive officer, Lawrence Livermore National Labora- tory; and Karl R. Braithwaite, executive assistance Director, Los Alamos "Let's Not Forget Radiation in the United States," by Richard L. Miller, from the New York Times, June 27, 1986..... 132 Letter to Senator Thurmond, from Paul Sweet, director, Federal governmental relations, University of California 135 Welber, Irwin: Testimony Prepared statement Willard, Richard K.: Testimony Prepared statement Responses to questions from Senator McConnell. 139 141 GOVERNMENT LIABILITY FOR ATOMIC WEAPONS TESTING PROGRAM-S. 2454 AND H.R. 1338 FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 1986 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. The committee met at 10:05 a.m., pursuant to notice, in room SD-226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Mitch McConnell (acting chairman) presiding. Also present: Senator Simon. Staff present: Mike Regan, staff counsel; Neil Trautwein, staff assistant; and Mark Contrerras, minority legislative assistant. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL Senator MCCONNELL [presiding]. The hearing will come to order. I will be chairing this hearing today on behalf of Chairman Thurmond. I would like to commend him for his leadership in calling this hearing to explore the legal issues surrounding the Feres doctrine and section 1631 of the Department of Defense Authorization Act of 1985. Senator Thurmond may or may not be by, as I indicated earlier, and I will be asking some questions on his behalf of the witnesses that we have here. At this point, without objection, Senator Thurmond's prepared statement will be inserted in the record. [The prepared statement of Senator Thurmond follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN STROM THURMOND The Senate Judiciary Committee today considers various pending legislation, some of which would repeal Section 1631 of the Department of Defense Authorization Act in 1984 and another which would remove the long standing defenses available to the United States government in such suits. This legislation has been offered in an attempt to provide legal recourse to people exposed to radiation as a result of atomic weapons testing. These are difficult and complex issues which have been the subject of numerous hearings in both Houses of Congress. As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, I am fully aware and deeply sensitive to the broad scope of these issues. The focus of the Judiciary Committee will concentrate on the legislation before us and its impact on the judicial process. Since the passage of Section 1631 there has been concern expressed about the availability of remedies for those who believe they have been exposed to radiation from atomic weapons testing. That amendment provided that government contractors in atomic energy defense programs are instrumentalities of the federal government and, as such, are not subject to suit by private individuals for effects possibly derived from activities associated with the research, development, and testing of nuclear weapons. |