The measure in question would expand compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to cover Idaho, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Guam and Colorado and extending it for a further 19 years.
Several communities that were on the front lines of U.S. atomic testing are not covered by the current RECA, which is set to expire in May.
However, it’s not clear whether the measure will make it into the annual National Defense Authorization Act and ultimately across the finish line.
In the affected states, residents have lobbied their members for years to extend and expand the compensation.
Maggie Billiman, a member of the Sawmill Chapter of the Navajo Nation, said that at the time of her father’s death from stomach cancer in 2001, neither of them was even aware of RECA.
Shortly before his death, Billiman’s father, Howard, asked her to research cancer treatments in hopes of finding easier ways of accessing care than his own experience.
“So that was put on me. … I just wanted to return and help my siblings [and] the whole reservation to go forward with not only the money but for RECA to be extended,” she said.
On a call with reporters Monday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said negotiations were ongoing but expressed frustration at what he said has been their emphasis on cost and offsets rather than a “moral imperative” to provide compensation.
Read more at TheHill.com.
