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S 1821 IS

To authorize the United States to recover from a third party the value of any housing, education, or medical care or treatment furnished or paid for by the United States and provided to any victim of lead poisoning.

October 28, 1999

Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. TORRICELLI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To authorize the United States to recover from a third party the value of any housing, education, or medical care or treatment furnished or paid for by the United States and provided to any victim of lead poisoning.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Lead Poisoning Expense Recovery Act of 1999'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) Lead poisoning is the number 1 environmental health threat to young children, affecting an estimated 890,000 children.

(2) Most children are poisoned in their homes through exposure to lead particles when lead-based paint deteriorates or is disturbed during home renovation or repainting.

(3) Lead paint remains in almost 2/3 of the housing stock of the United States.

(4) Lead poisoning may cause serious, long-term harm to children, including reduced intelligence and attention span, behavior problems, learning disabilities, and impaired growth.

(5) Research shows that children with elevated levels of lead in their blood are 7 times more likely to drop out of high school than children without elevated blood-lead levels.

(6) Children from low-income families are 8 times more likely to be poisoned by lead than children from high-income families.

(7) African-American children are 5 times more likely to be poisoned by lead than white children.

SEC. 3. SUITS BY THE UNITED STATES AUTHORIZED.

(a) IN GENERAL- In any case in which the United States is authorized or required to furnish housing, education, or medical care or treatment to an individual who suffers from or is at risk of lead poisoning (or to pay for the housing, education, or medical care or treatment of such an individual) under circumstances creating liability upon any third party, the United States shall have the right to recover (independent of the rights of the injured or diseased individual) the value of the housing (including the cost of lead hazard evaluation and control), education, or medical care or treatment furnished or paid for by the United States before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.

(b) AMOUNTS RECOVERED- Any amount recovered by the United States under subsection (a) shall be available, subject to authorization and appropriations Acts, to enhance childhood lead poisoning prevention and treatment activities, including lead hazard evaluation and control.

(c) THIRD PARTY DEFINED- In this section, the term `third party' means any manufacturer of lead or lead compound for use in paint or any trade association that represents such a manufacturer.

(d) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS- No action may be brought under this section more than 6 years after the later of--

(1) the date of enactment of this Act; or

(2) the date on which the United States incurs the expense.

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