With a June 7 deadline looming, supporters of reauthorizing the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act gathered in the U.S. Capitol grounds Thursday to urge House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to hold a vote on the bill.
As of the Thursday May 16 rally and press conference, the House of Representatives had nine working days left to vote on reauthorizing the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), according to a press advisory from the Union of Concerned Scientists, which is helping coordinate the event.
A bill to reauthorize and expand RECA passed the Senate easily in March and President Joe Biden has said he would sign it. The law provides nuclear weapons workers with medical screenings and compensation for work-related illness. Members of congress who spoke Thursday expressed optimism the measure would pass the House.
Citizen advocates who spoke at the rally, a webcast of which is available on the X social media platform, said they met this week with representatives of Johnson’s staff about reauthorizing and expanding the law.
The Senate package would keep the program going for at least six years and expand the number of people potentially eligible for compensation, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) and most members of the New Mexico congressional delegation spoke at the Thursday gathering. Lujan said when the original RECA was first passed in 1990, many areas, such as Missouri and Guam, with lots of weapons workers, were excluded.
Rep. Teresa Fernandez (D-N.M.) expressed confidence that if a House vote is taken the RECA expansion will pass because there is significant Republican support. The lawmaker said Johnson’s office has some misgivings about cost. But Fernandez said supporters are making the case that Congress has already concluded weapons workers are due compensation, but many sick people are not covered by the law currently.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who pushed an unsuccessful effort to attach RECA to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act in December, did not make the Thursday event, but was cited by many speakers who did.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), the progressive Democrat, said she and the conservative Hawley are united in pushing for compensation for affected workers in Greater St. Louis. “When you have Cori Bush and Josh Hawley on the same side, fighting for the same side … you need to listen,” Bush said.
Recently, a bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote Johnson and urged the speaker to set a vote. As an apparent fallback option, Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), said Thursday he would try to attach RECA reauthorization to the must-pass fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. Vasquez represents a district that includes the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
Advocates have set up the National Cancer Benefits Center website, which says it seeks compensation for people with cancer resulting from “government-created radiation.”
