# Energy Workers Health Improvement and Compensation Fund Act

This bill creates a new fund to help oil and gas workers and their families pay for medical expenses related to health problems caused by their work or living near oil and gas sites. The money comes directly from oil companies, not taxpayers.

Here's how it works: Large oil companies (those making more than $50 million a year) must contribute money to this fund based on what they pay their ten highest-earning employees. Each year by March 31, a company pays an amount equal to the total compensation of those ten executives into the fund. For example, if an oil company's top ten executives collectively earn $10 million per year, the company contributes $10 million to the fund. If a company underpays by more than 2 percent, it faces a 10 percent penalty on top of what it owes. Companies can also voluntarily contribute extra money if they choose to. Importantly, oil companies cannot deduct these payments from their taxes.

The fund then reimburses eligible workers and their families for medical costs not covered by insurance. This includes expenses for asthma, heat-related illnesses, and other respiratory or heart diseases linked to oil and gas work. An "eligible worker" is someone who either worked at an oil or gas site for at least a year or lived within 20 miles of one for at least a year. Family members living within 20 miles of a site for a year also qualify. The government processes claims in the order they're received.

The bill also establishes a commission made up of government health officials, oil and gas workers from major oil-producing states, and representatives from labor and immigration advocacy groups. This commission will study the health effects on oil and gas workers and make recommendations to Congress within 18 months about how the government can better protect worker health.