Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) vowed to vote against the must-pass defense policy bill when it comes before the Senate unless it includes compensation for Missourians potentially exposed to radiation from nuclear weapons work dating back to the Manhattan Project.
The fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is now in conference between members of the House and Senate. Hawley took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to state his opposition to the bill if it doesn’t contain funding for residents of his state who may have been exposed to radiation.
“The defense bill will soon come before the Senate. I want to be clear: I will vote AGAINST the bill and use every available means to slow its passage unless it includes compensation for the victims of nuclear contamination in Missouri,” Hawley posted on X on Nov. 22 “There’s no way I am going to vote for billions of dollars for defense contractors if working people who were poisoned by their own government are not fairly compensated. This is basic justice.”
The Senate in July approved an amendment from Hawley that would allow people in the St. Louis area to receive financial compensation from DOE for illnesses arising from nuclear weapons work near the city.
Among other nuclear weapons work sites, St. Louis is home to the Coldwater Creek Superfund site near the St. Louis airport, which stored waste from the Weldon Springs Chemical Plant that processed uranium for nuclear weapons during the Manhattan Project.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Hawley have occasionally worked together to press the Department of Energy for action on St. Louis-area contamination.
Conferees for the House and Senate are working to hammer out a compromise version of the NDAA, after the Senate on Nov. 17 voted 90-8 in favor of formally beginning final negotiations on the annual defense policy bill. The Department of Energy’s current funding appropriation – which includes the semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration – runs through Jan. 19.
Both versions of the bill would set spending limits for the National Nuclear Security Administration at about $22 billion. The House NDAA would allow a higher ceiling than the Senate committee’s NDAA: some $725 million more than requested, compared with about $590 million more.
