Document LgnZ03dE0O28EgynXp4b48xN5

J. eLORCO MILL. JR. ^WCSJOCNT A tax PUBLICATION CHARLES B. UTTLE CXCCUTWC ASSISTANT Swlt* 03 -- &00 hUrytand Avanua. S.W.. Wningion. 0 C. 2002* 202) 4*4-3344 ... ELEANOR M. COLE " AOMIN) STJLAT5YT assistant April 13, 1982 '32 W.C.- 2 BE AWARE AND BEWARE Seventy-five or more Washington lobbyists and corporate representatives met last week at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to launch an awareness campaign. The subject was H.R. 573 5, the Occupational Health Hazards Compensation Act of 1332, introduced last month oy Labor Standards Subcommittee Chairman, George Miller (D-Calif.). The bill preempts state workers' compensation laws by creating a com pulsory benefit system for individuals suffering from diseases asso ciated with exposure to asbestos and uranium. Other diseases (not defined) are to be added later by the Secretary of Labor. A summary of the bill is attached. Mr. Miller has announced hearings on April 21 and 22; 9:30 A.M., Room 2261, Rayburn House Office 3uiiding. Last fail, Mr. Miller held hearings on several proposals to curtail the excessive abundance in the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (F.E.C.A.). Nothing has yet been done to reform that program, but it is interesting to note that one of the major "reasons" Mr. Miller advanced for his reluctance to move was the slow, unsatisfactory handling of claims by the U.S. Department of Labor. One got the distinct impression things were so bad that the parameters of the F.E.C.A. program were secon dary to the need for improving the administrative process. That same Mr. Miller now wants to federalize a portion of state workers' compensation and hand it over to that same U.S. Department of Labor. *5. ELDRED HILL, JR President, UBA Lift 001185