[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1656 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1656
To provide compensation to certain residents of the island of Vieques,
Puerto Rico, for the use of such island for military readiness, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 7, 2025
Mr. Wicker (for himself and Mrs. Gillibrand) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide compensation to certain residents of the island of Vieques,
Puerto Rico, for the use of such island for military readiness, and for
other purposes.
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 ``Vieques Recovery and Redevelopment
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Vieques is an island municipality of Puerto Rico,
measuring approximately 21 miles long by 4 miles wide, and
located approximately 8 miles east of the main island of Puerto
Rico.
(2) Prior to Hurricane Maria, residents of Vieques were
served by an urgent medical care facility, the Susana Centeno
Family Health Center, and residents had to travel off-island to
obtain medical services, including most types of emergency care
because the facility did not have the basic use of x-ray
machines, CT machines, EKG machines, ultrasounds, or PET scans.
(3) The predominant means of transporting passengers and
goods between Vieques and the main island of Puerto Rico is by
ferry boat service, and over the years, the efficiency of this
service has frequently been disrupted, unreliable, and
difficult for cancer patients to endure to receive treatment.
Each trip to Ceiba, Puerto Rico, for the cancer patient is an
additional out-of-pocket expense ranging from $120 to $200.
(4) The United States Military maintained a presence on the
eastern and western portions of Vieques for close to 60 years,
and used parts of the island as a training range during those
years, dropping over 80 million tons of ordnance and other
weaponry available to the United States military since World
War II.
(5) The unintended, unknown, and unavoidable consequences
of these exercises were to expose Americans living on the
islands to the residue of that weaponry which includes heavy
metals and many other chemicals now known to harm human health.
(6) According to Government and independent documentation,
the island of Vieques has high levels of heavy metals and has
been exposed to chemical weapons and toxic chemicals. Since the
military activity in Vieques, island residents have suffered
from the health impacts from long-term exposure to
environmental contamination as a result of 62 years of military
operations, and have experienced higher rates of certain
diseases among residents, including cancer, cirrhosis,
hypertension, diabetes, heavy metal diseases, along with many
unnamed and uncategorized illnesses. These toxic residues have
caused the American residents of Vieques to develop illnesses
due to ongoing exposure.
(7) In 2017, Vieques was hit by Hurricane Maria, an
unusually destructive storm that devastated Puerto Rico and
intensified the existing humanitarian crisis on the island by
destroying existing medical facilities.
(8) The medical systems in place prior to Hurricane Maria
were unable to properly handle the health crisis that existed
due to the toxic residue left on the island by the military's
activities.
(9) After Maria, the medical facility was closed due to
damage and continues to be unable to perform even the few basic
services that it did provide. Vieques needs a medical facility
that can treat and address the critical and urgent need to get
lifesaving medical services to its residents. Due to legal
restrictions, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (in this
Act referred to as ``FEMA'') is unable to provide a hospital
where its capabilities exceed the abilities of the facility
that existed prior to Maria; therefore, Vieques needs
assistance to build a facility to manage the vast health needs
of its residents.
(10) Every American has benefitted from the sacrifices of
those Americans who have lived and are living on Vieques and it
is our intent to acknowledge that sacrifice and to treat those
Americans with the same respect and appreciation that other
Americans enjoy.
(11) In 2012, the residents of Vieques were denied the
ability to address their needs in Court due to sovereign
immunity, Sanchez v. United States, No. 3:09-cv-01260-DRD
(D.P.R.). However, the United States Court of Appeals for the
First Circuit referred the issue to Congress and urged it to
address the humanitarian crisis. This bill attempts to satisfy
that request such that Americans living on Vieques have a
remedy for the suffering they have endured.
SEC. 3. SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES FOR CERTAIN
RESIDENTS OF THE ISLAND OF VIEQUES, PUERTO RICO.
(a) In General.--An individual claimant who has resided on the
island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, for not less than 5 years before the
date of enactment of this Act and files a claim for compensation under
this section with the Special Master, appointed pursuant to subsection
(c), shall be awarded monetary compensation as described in subsection
(b) if--
(1) the Special Master determines that the claimant is or
was a resident or an immediate heir (as determined by the laws
of Puerto Rico) of a deceased claimant on the island of
Vieques, Puerto Rico, during or after the United States
Government used the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, for
military readiness;
(2) the claimant previously filed a lawsuit or an
administrative claim, or files a claim not later than 120 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act against the United
States Government for personal injury, including illness or
death arising from use by the United States Government of the
island of Vieques for military readiness; and
(3) the claimant submits to the Special Master written
medical documentation that indicates that it is more likely
than not the claimant contracted a chronic, life-threatening,
or physical disease or illness limited to cancer, hypertension,
cirrhosis, kidney disease, diabetes, or a heavy metal poisoning
as a result the United States Government used the island of
Vieques, Puerto Rico, for military readiness.
(b) Amounts of Award.--
(1) In general.--A claimant who meets the requirements of
subsection (a) shall be awarded compensation as follows:
(A) $50,000 for 1 disease described in subsection
(a)(3).
(B) $80,000 for 2 diseases described in subsection
(a)(3).
(C) $110,000 for 3 or more diseases described in
subsection (a)(3).
(2) Increase in award.--In the case that an individual
receiving an award under paragraph (1) of this subsection
contracts another disease under subsection (a)(3) and files a
new claim with the Special Master for an additional award not
later than 10 years after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Special Master may award the individual an amount that
is equal to the difference between--
(A) the amount that the individual would have been
eligible to receive had the disease been contracted
before the individual filed an initial claim under
subsection (a); and
(B) the amount received by the individual pursuant
to paragraph (1).
(3) Deceased claimants.--In the case of an individual who
dies before making a claim under this section or a claimant who
dies before receiving an award under this section, any
immediate heir to the individual or claimant, as determined by
the laws of Puerto Rico, shall be eligible for one of the
following awards:
(A) Compensation in accordance with paragraph (1),
divided among any such heir.
(B) Compensation based on the age of the deceased
if the claimant shows that it is more likely than not
that the United States Military activity caused the
death of the individual as follows:
(i) In the case of an individual or
claimant who dies before attaining 20 years of
age, $110,000, divided among any such heir.
(ii) In the case of an individual or
claimant who dies before attaining 40 years of
age, $80,000, divided among any such heir.
(iii) In the case of an individual or
claimant who dies before attaining 60 years of
age, $50,000, divided among any such heir.
(c) Appointment of Special Master.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall appoint a
Special Master not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act to consider claims by individuals and the
municipality.
(2) Qualifications.--The Attorney General shall consider
the following in choosing the Special Master:
(A) The individual's experience in the processing
of victims' claims in relation to foreign or domestic
governments.
(B) The individual's balance of experience in
representing the interests of the United States and
individual claimants.
(C) The individual's experience in matters of
national security.
(D) The individual's demonstrated abilities in
investigation and fact findings in complex factual
matters.
(E) Any experience the individual has had advising
the United States Government.
(d) Award Amounts Related to Claims by the Municipality of
Vieques.--
(1) Award.--The Special Master, in exchange for its
administrative claims, shall provide the following as
compensation to the Municipality of Vieques:
(A) Staff.--The Special Master shall provide
medical staff, and other resources necessary to build
and operate a level three trauma center (in this
section, referred to as ``medical facility'') with a
cancer center and renal dialysis unit and its
equipment. The medical facility shall be able to treat
life-threatening, chronic, heavy metal, and physical
and mental diseases. The medical facility shall be able
to provide basic x-ray, EKG, internal medicine
expertise, medical coordination personnel and case
managers, ultrasound, and resources necessary to screen
claimants described in subsection (a) who are receiving
treatment for the diseases or illnesses described in
paragraph (3) of that subsection for cancer and the
other prevailing health problems.
(B) Operations.--The Special Master shall fund the
operations of the medical facility to provide medical
care for pediatric and adult patients who reside on the
island of Vieques, allowing the patients to be referred
for tertiary and quaternary health care facilities when
necessary, and providing the transportation and medical
costs when traveling off the island of Vieques.
(C) Interim services.--Before the medical facility
on the island of Vieques is operational, the Special
Master shall provide to claimants described in
subsection (a) who are receiving treatment for the
diseases or illnesses described in paragraph (3) of
that subsection--
(i) urgent health care air transport to
hospitals on the mainland of Puerto Rico from
the island of Vieques;
(ii) medical coordination personnel and
case managers;
(iii) telemedicine communication abilities;
and
(iv) any other services that are necessary
to alleviate the health crisis on the island of
Vieques.
(D) Screening.--The Special Master shall make
available, at no cost to the patient, medical screening
for cancer, cirrhosis, diabetes, and heavy metal
contamination on the island of Vieques.
(E) Academic partner.--The Special Master shall
appoint an academic partner, with appropriate
experience and an established relationship with the
Municipality of Vieques, that shall--
(i) lead a research and outreach endeavor
on behalf of the Municipality of Vieques;
(ii) select the appropriate scientific
expertise and administer defined studies,
conducting testing and evaluation of the soils,
seas, plant and animal food sources, and the
health of residents; and
(iii) determine and implement the most
efficient and effective way to reduce the
environmental toxins to a level sufficient to
return the soils, seas, food sources, and
health circumstances to a level that reduces
the diseases on the island of Vieques to the
average in the United States.
(F) Duties.--The Special Master shall provide
amounts necessary for the academic partner and medical
coordinator to carry out the duties described in
subparagraphs (A) through (D).
(G) Procurement.--The Special Master shall provide
amounts necessary to compensate the Municipality of
Vieques for--
(i) contractual procurement obligations and
additional expenses incurred by the
municipality as a result of the enactment of
this section and settlement of its claim; and
(ii) any other damages and costs to be
incurred by the municipality, if the Special
Master determines that it is necessary to carry
out the purpose of this section.
(H) Power source.--The Special Master shall
determine the best source of producing independent
power on the island of Vieques that is hurricane
resilient and can effectively sustain the needs of the
island and shall authorize such construction as an
award to the Municipality of Vieques.
(2) Source.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), amounts awarded under this Act shall be made from
amounts appropriated under section 1304 of title 31,
United States Code, commonly known as the ``Judgment
Fund'', as if claims were adjudicated by a United
States District Court under section 1346(b) of title
28, United States Code.
(B) Limitation.--Total amounts awarded under this
Act shall not exceed $1,000,000,000.
(3) Determination and payment of claims.--
(A) Establishment of filing procedures.--The
Attorney General shall establish procedures whereby
individuals and the municipality may submit claims for
payments under this section to the Special Master.
(B) Determination of claims.--The Special Master
shall, in accordance with this subsection, determine
whether each claim meets the requirements of this
section. Claims filed by residents of the island of
Vieques that have been disposed of by a court under
chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, shall be
treated as if such claims are currently filed.
(e) Action on Claims.--The Special Master shall make a
determination on any claim filed under the procedures established under
this section not later than 150 days after the date on which the claim
is filed.
(f) Payment in Full Settlement of Claims by Individuals and the
Municipality of Vieques Against the United States.--The acceptance by
an individual or the Municipality of Vieques of a payment of an award
under this section shall--
(1) be final and conclusive;
(2) be deemed to be in full satisfaction of all claims
under chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code; and
(3) constitute a complete release by the individual or
municipality of such claim against the United States and
against any employee of the United States acting in the scope
of employment who is involved in the matter giving rise to the
claim.
(g) Certification of Treatment of Payments Under Other Laws.--
Amounts paid to an individual under this section--
(1) shall be treated for purposes of the laws of the United
States as damages for human suffering; and
(2) may not be included as income or resources for purposes
of determining eligibility to receive benefits described in
section 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31, United States Code, or the
amount of such benefits.
(h) Limitation on Claims.--A claim to which this section applies
shall be barred unless the claim is filed within 15 years after the
date of the en