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Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
Ribbon Cutting
Ceremony for the Paducah EEOICPA Resource Center
Paducah, Kentucky
July
2, 2001
 Thank you, Ed, for
that kind introduction. And thank you all for coming. It's always a special
pleasure for me to be able to get out of Washington and come home to Kentucky.
A summer day in Kentucky is really a special pleasure.
This is a very important day: A major step forward in America's
commitment to the well-being of our nuclear industry workers and their
families. A lot of different people contributed to making today's event
possible - more than I can even properly thank right now, really, but let me
just mention a few of the key people who we're lucky enough to have here today.
I want to start by recognizing one person who deserves a lot of the
credit for making this day possible: Clara Harding, whose husband Joe died as a
result of cancer brought on by his work at the Paducah plant.
Clara has been one of the strongest advocates for Congressional action
to address the needs of injured workers and their families, and I'm sure I
speak for everyone here today when I say thank you, Clara, for all that you've
done. You're a real hero to all of us.
Of course, it almost goes without saying that Congressman Whitfield has
been a consistently strong advocate for the people in his district and this
Resource Center. Ed, thanks for being here.
And naturally, he's had strong support from both of Kentucky's fine U.S.
Senators, Jim Bunning and a guy I know pretty well, Mitch McConnell. They
couldn't be here today, but some of their key staffers are [Tim Thomas from
McConnell], and I want to thank all of them for their support.
And I'm sure Mayor Paxton needs no introduction to anyone here, but I do
want to thank him for his close cooperation on our work here.
Another key figure in the process of establishing this Resource Center
is David Fuller, the president of the local PACE chapter [Paper,
Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union].
Thanks so much for your strong efforts on behalf of your members, David.
And as a matter of fact, we're fortunate to have another Fuller here today who
will also have a vital role in the day-to-day operations of the center, since
she'll be working there: Katherine Fuller, David's lovely wife. Thank you,
Katherine.
And I want to thank the many employees of my agency, the Department of
Labor, and our colleagues at the Department of Energy, led by Don Seaborg, who
have worked together on opening the center. Thank you all.
Thank you all very much for your tireless efforts. Your work is really
going to make a difference for the lives of some very special Kentuckians.
And I'm especially proud to be here today, because this is one of the
first issues I started to look closely at when I took over as Secretary of
Labor, just about five months ago.
It's meant a lot to me, personally, to play a role in helping America's
nuclear industry workers get the care and compensation that they deserve for
their years of service and the hazards that they were exposed to as they helped
America fight and win the Cold War. These workers devoted years of their
working lives — and tragically, in many instances, at a terrible cost to
their health — to protect America and the cause of freedom around the
world.
It is a tragedy that more was not done to care for these injured workers
sooner — but I am proud to be here today, to open this Resource Center so
we can start processing these claims as quickly as possible.
These injured defense workers are American heroes — and they
deserve to be treated that way.
Last October Congress passed legislation to provide compensation and
medical benefits for these workers, and we've moved forward at the Labor
Department as quickly as possible to get that program up and running.
I'm very, very proud of how quickly the Department has moved to get this
Resource Center open, operating under a very tight deadline. I expect to have
the compensation program fully geared up by the end of this month, and I look
forward to paying off some of the first claims shortly thereafter.
Today is just the beginning. Nine more resource centers will be opening
in the near future. But, as an adopted daughter of Kentucky, it is a special
pleasure for me to be here today to open the first of these centers.
Paducah has had its share of struggles. But I believe it has made this
community stronger. Neighbor turning to neighbor, families coming together
— these are the hallmarks of a community where people take care of each
other.
Taking care of each other — that's what this Resource Center is
here to do. I hope and trust it will help us now serve the people of Paducah
who gave so much in service to all of us.
Thank you very much.
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