(a) In general
The Secretary shall administer this part.

(b) Contract authority
The Secretary may enter into contracts with appropriate persons and entities to administer this part.

(c) Records

(1)

(A) The Secretary of Energy shall provide to the Secretary all records, files, and other data, whether paper, electronic, imaged, or otherwise, developed by the Secretary of Energy that are applicable to the administration of this part, including records, files, and data on facility industrial hygiene, employment of individuals or groups, exposure and medical records, and claims applications.

(B) In providing records, files, and other data under this paragraph, the Secretary of Energy shall preserve the current organization of such records, files, and other data, and shall provide such description and indexing of such records, files, and other data as the Secretary considers appropriate to facilitate their use by the Secretary.

(2) The Secretary of Energy and the Secretary shall jointly undertake such actions as are appropriate to retrieve records applicable to the claims of Department of Energy contractor employees for contractor employee compensation under this part, including employment records, records of exposure to beryllium, radiation, silica, or other toxic substances, and records regarding medical treatment.

(d) Information
At the request of the Secretary, the Secretary of Energy and any contractor who employed a Department of Energy contractor employee shall, within time periods specified by the Secretary, provide to the Secretary and to the employee information or documents in response to the request.

(e) Regulations
The Secretary shall prescribe regulations necessary for the administration of this part. The initial regulations shall be prescribed not later than 210 days after October 28, 2004. The Secretary may prescribe interim final regulations necessary to meet the deadlines specified in this part.

(f) Transition provisions

(1) The Secretary shall commence the administration of the provisions of this part not later than 210 days after October 28, 2004.

(2) Until the commencement of the administration of this part, the Department of Energy Physicians Panels appointed pursuant to part D shall continue to consider and issue determinations concerning any cases pending before such Panels immediately before October 28, 2004.

(3) The Secretary shall take such actions as are appropriate to identify other activities under part D that will continue until the commencement of the administration of this part.

(g) Previous applications
Upon the commencement of the administration of this part, any application previously filed with the Secretary of Energy pursuant to part D shall be considered to have been filed with the Secretary as a claim for benefits pursuant to this part.