Letter to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, Steny Hoyer, Majority Leader of the House, Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader of the House, Steve Scalise, House Minority Whip - Reps. Leger Fernández and Owens Lead Bipartisan Letter to House Leadership Requesting Vote on the RECA Extension Act
Letter
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Minority Leader McCarthy, and Minority Whip Scalise:
We write to urge you to bring S. 4119, the RECA Extension Act of 2022 to the House Floor as expeditiously as possible. This legislation would extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) program until two years after enactment. It passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent last week. S. 4119's quick consideration in the House is necessary given RECA's impending sunset on July 10, 2022.
As you know, in 1945, the United States exploded the first atomic bomb at the Trinity Site in New Mexico. Over the next 48 years, the U.S. conducted more than 200 above-ground nuclear tests. These tests released harmful radioactive material into the air in many parts of the United States, including New Mexico, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Montana, and Guam, and exposed nearby downwinder communities to radiation. Testing also harmed those working in the uranium industry. As a result of the exposure, tens of thousands contracted cancers and other serious diseases.
In 1990, Congress passed RECA on a bipartisan basis to provide a one-time payment to many of those harmed. The program provides benefits to qualified persons who participated in onsite tests of an atomic weapon; downwinders in specified areas near the Nevada Test Site only; and uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters who worked in the industry between 1942 and 1971.
Many Americans are still falling sick and dying due to radiation exposure. The United States should not walk away from its commitment to compensate these people. We must quickly pass S. 4119 to extend RECA so that the program does not expire in July. It is also important to note that we continue to work on a bipartisan basis to expand and improve RECA through the bipartisan H.R. 5338, the RECA Amendments of 2021. Our bill will make sure that uranium miners and downwinders who were previously left out can receive the compensation and support they deserve. We look forward to engaging with you on that legislation as well.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
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