Tina Cordova, a founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, protests at the Trinity site on Oct. 21, 2023. She called the recent striking of the expansion of a fund to pay victims of radiation exposure ‘shockingly immoral.’
Following the expiration of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act last June, today U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM.), along with U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) reintroduced the bill to compensate New Mexicans and others exposed to radiation by the federal government.
“In New Mexico and across the country, thousands sacrificed to contribute to our national security,” Luján said in a statement. “Today, individuals affected by nuclear weapons testing, downwind radiation exposure, and uranium mining are still waiting to receive the justice they are owed. It is unacceptable that so many who have gotten sick from radiation exposure have been denied compensation by Congress.”
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) also co-sponsored the legislation, alongside Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).
The U.S. Senate passed RECA legislation twice before, but it failed to receive a vote in the House in the last session.
“I was disheartened that Speaker [Mike] Johnson refused a vote on RECA to help victims,” Luján’s statement noted. “RECA is a bipartisan priority and I am hopeful that we will once again get it through the Senate and hope the Speaker commits to getting victims the compensation they are owed.”
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