Federal grant program funds free silicosis treatment for exposed workers
H.R. 10798 — Silicosis Prevention and Treatment Act · Filed by J. Correa (D-CA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Oct 13, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill creates a $10 million per year federal grant program (2027–2031) for hospitals, health centers, and nonprofits to treat silicosis patients regardless of ability to pay and educate workers exposed to silica dust. Eligible recipients include federally qualified health centers, hospitals, state/local health departments, and nonprofit clinics. Funds may be used for screening, treatment, patient education, benefits counseling, and pulmonary rehabilitation.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a straightforward federal grant program funding silicosis treatment and worker education through existing health-care delivery infrastructure. It is a public-health appropriation, not a regulatory change or industry carve-out.
What the text implies
- Grant program may create new capacity for silicosis diagnosis and treatment in underserved areas, potentially identifying previously undiagnosed cases and increasing demand for pulmonary specialists.
- Benefits counseling component may increase worker uptake of state workers' compensation and federal black lung benefits, shifting some costs from individual workers to state/federal compensation systems.
- Funding is capped at $10M annually; actual reach depends on appropriations and competitive grant distribution—some high-exposure regions may receive limited funding.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Workers and patients with silicosis—a serious occupational lung disease—gain access to free or subsidized treatment, screening, and education. The bill removes financial barriers to care for a vulnerable population (industrial workers) and funds public health outreach in high-exposure industries, improving health outcomes and worker safety.
Who stands to gain
- Federally qualified health centers
- Hospitals and health systems
- Nonprofit health-care providers and clinics
- State and local health departments
Named in the bill
Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), State and local health departments, Nonprofit health-care providers
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Oct 13, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 13, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,852 characters) on Oct 16, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal grant program funds free silicosis treatment for exposed workers” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr10798 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.