WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Elaine Chao announced Wednesday she will take charge of distributing compensation to job-injured nuclear weapons plant workers — a duty she spent weeks trying to shift to another arm of the government.

        “I think this is a win for workers,” she said. “This is a priority. We want to take care of the workers, we want to make sure justice is done.”

Chao

        However, Ms. Chao said her staff cannot meet a July 31 deadline for being ready to accept applications for the nation's newest entitlement program.

        The deadline is set in law, so Ms. Chao wants Congress to enact an extension. She said she did not yet know how many additional months she would need to get a team in place, but that medical benefits would be made retroactive to July 31.

        The new program offers lifetime medical care and $150,000 to ailing workers who were employed in the nuclear weapons complex, at factories that worked for the Energy Department, or at nuclear test sites in Alaska and Nevada.

        Congress gave the Labor Department $60.4 million to initiate the program, reasoning it was well-prepared because Labor already runs three worker compensation programs.

        But within weeks of taking the helm at the department, Ms. Chao decided the Justice Department was better equipped to handle the new duties, and she asked the White House to authorize a transfer.

        That didn't go over well with the union representing many of the sick workers or on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers said they feared a change in jurisdiction would delay benefits.

        Ms. Chao's decision to keep custody of the program drew praise from some of the program's legislative parents.

        “I am relieved that we can stop fighting over who will administer this program and focus on making sure workers quickly get compensation that is long overdue,” said Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Ohio.

        Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., also was relieved.

        “When Congress authorized this program last year, it was clearly our intent that the Department of Labor should run the program,” he said. “I have full confidence that they can and will efficiently manage this crucial program.”

        Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said he appreciated Ms. Chao's candor about the likelihood of missing her deadlines.

        “I think it's very important that when this thing is kicked off that it is done right,” he said.

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