A law allowing victims of cancer and other illnesses caused by government-caused nuclear contamination to receive federal compensation is set to expire Friday, but Congress is deadlocked over significantly expanding eligibility for the program.
The law, called the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, was enacted more than 20 years ago to compensate civilians sickened by the legacy of the country's above-ground nuclear testing program. More than $2.6 billion paid Since its inception in 1990, it has provided benefits to more than 55,000 claimants.
But if Congress fails to act, individuals sickened by radiation exposure will no longer be able to apply for compensation and may ultimately be unable to receive the free cancer screenings provided by local clinics that the law requires.
“The Senate has passed this legislation twice. The House has passed nothing,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who led the effort to expand the law, said in an interview. “They haven’t done anything. I think the message they’ve sent is, ‘We don’t care, good luck to you.’ ”
The underlying reason for the congressional deadlock is the debate over whether to significantly expand the program to cover vast areas of the country affected by above-ground nuclear testing, the so-called “downwind areas,” as well as individuals who became ill from exposure to toxic nuclear waste generated by uranium processing plants across the country.
The original law was very narrowly applied. It excluded large swaths of voters affected by nuclear testing, including large parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada. They completely ignored communities in Idaho, Montana, Colorado, and elsewhere. They did nothing to protect Dozens of people have fallen ill in St. Louis and other communities Radioactive waste from a nearby uranium processing site has never been properly disposed of.
this The Senate passed the legislation in March A proposal led by Mr. Hawley and Senator Ben Ray Luján, Democrat of New Mexico, would significantly liberalize the fund’s use.
The White House approved the legislation, but supporters of the bill have faced resistance in the Republican-led House, where Speaker Mike Johnson balked at the potential cost, which is estimated to be as high as $40 billion. Some attorneys who handle RECA claims have also expressed concerns that the office that handles claims, which consists of 16 employees, would be unable to handle the influx of new filings if the law is significantly expanded.
Johnson proposed a simple renewal vote on the law, which would not expand eligibility for the program but would keep it from closing until 2026. Members of both parties in the House and Senate told him they would not vote for a program that would exclude their constituents because the Senate had already overwhelmingly approved legislation to expand access.
Lily Adams, senior outreach coordinator for the Union of Concerned Scientists, which has been working with lawmakers on a bill to expand the program, said the two-year extension proposed by House Republican leadership “will only perpetuate injustice and allow Congress to ignore its responsibilities to these communities.”
“Delaying this process is cruel to all the people who are dealing with radiation-related illnesses and who are waiting to see if they will be able to get life-saving support,” Ms Adams said. “Letting RECA lapse is also cruel to those who are currently eligible.”
Supporters of the legislation to expand eligibility are considering including the measure as an amendment to the annual defense policy bill, which is considered one of the few remaining bills Congress must pass this year.
Guidance issued by the Justice Department last year said existing claims, as well as those postmarked June 10, would continue to be processed. 400 people have applied for compensation and are waiting for the department to assess their claims.
Other eligible claimants may be blocked entirely.
Maggie Billiman, founder of Sawmill Diné Warriors, an advocacy group that educates members of the Navajo Nation about RECA, said she recently met with a former uranium miner from southern Utah who was battling cancer and drove several hours to meet with her.
Only then did he realize he was eligible for federal compensation — but she had to tell him he only had a few days to apply.
“I was thinking this morning,” said Ms. Biliman, who herself suffers from thyroid and pancreatic diseases linked to radiation exposure. “If you hadn’t signed this bill on the 7th, what would we have done? Am I just going to go home and die?”
