Grassley today won Senate approval for an amendment he sponsored that was included in the Energy and Water Appropriations bill that would transfer responsibility for processing claims from the Department of Energy to the Department of Labor. The amendment would help former employees' claims move more quickly through the process that would allow them to receive compensation for their illnesses.
"The Department of Labor has done a fairly good job of getting through the nightmare that has occurred in processing these claims," Grassley said. "The bottom line is that the Department of Energy wasn't getting it done. These people have waited long enough."
Grassley said that based on information available in June on the Energy Department's website, more than 15,000 claims have been filed with the Department over the last two year period and only 14 of those claims have been processed.
As part of his effort on behalf of the former Iowa Army Ammunition Plant workers and their families, Grassley earlier this year petitioned the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to object to a regulation that would make it harder for former IAAP workers to receive compensation. Grassley also personally questioned the Secretary of Energy about the department's management of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program and requested a review of the department's performance by the independent General Accounting Office.