Members of tribal nations from Arizona and New Mexico have been in Washington, D.C. this week advocating for the House of Representatives to vote on a bill to reauthorize and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a federal program that compensates individuals who become ill due to exposure to radioactive materials related to the United States’ nuclear weapons program.
Congress passed RECA in 1990. The program’s conditions depend on location, disease type and source of exposure, like uranium mining or transporting uranium ore. The bill to reauthorize and expand eligibility criteria received bipartisan approval in the Senate in March. The House has yet to consider it, allowing the program to expire in June.
Under the proposal, the number of places eligible for the program’s benefits would expand to include areas impacted by waste from the Manhattan Project. It would also add states and territories that were harmed by nuclear weapons testing…