§ 83.1 What is the purpose of the procedures in this part?

EEOICPA authorizes the President to add classes of employees to the Cohort, while providing Congress with the opportunity to review and expedite or reverse these decisions. The President delegated his authority to the Secretary of HHS. This part specifies the procedures by which HHS will determine whether to add new classes of employees from DOE and AWE facilities to the Cohort. HHS will consider adding new classes of employees in response to petitions by, or on behalf of, such classes of employees. The procedures specify requirements for petitions and for their consideration. These requirements are intended to ensure that petitions are submitted by authorized parties, are justified, and receive uniform, fair, scientific consideration. The procedures are also designed to give petitioners and interested parties opportunity for appropriate involvement in the process, and to ensure that the process is timely and consistent with requirements specified in EEOICPA. The procedures are not intended to provide a second opportunity to qualify a claim for compensation, once HHS has completed the dose reconstruction and DOL has determined that the cancer subject to the claim was not “at least as likely as not” caused by the estimated radiation doses. DOL has established procedures separate from those covered by this part, under 20 CFR part 30, for cancer claimants who want to contest the factual determinations or how NIOSH conducted their dose reconstructions.