Letter to the Hon. Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and the Hon. Jerrold Nadler, Ranking Member - Calls for House Hearing on the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act

Letter

Dear Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Nadler:

We write to encourage you to hold a hearing to examine the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).

From 1945 to 1962, the United States conducted nearly 200 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests while building the arsenal that became the cornerstone of our nation's Cold War security strategy. The mining and processing of uranium ore essential to the development of nuclear weapons was conducted by tens of thousands of workers until the mid-1970's. In the years after the federal government ceased testing nuclear weapons and intensive mining of uranium ore, many individuals who worked in the uranium industry, lived near a mining operation, or lived downwind from the Nevada Test Site became sick or died because of exposure to unsafe levels of radiation from uranium.

To meet its responsibility to those Americans who sacrificed so much for our national security, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) on October 5, 1990, and later broadened the scope of the Act's coverage on July 10, 2000. The current law offers compensation to individuals who contracted certain cancers and other serious diseases following their exposure to radiation released during above-ground atmospheric nuclear weapons tests or following their occupational exposure to radiation while employed in the uranium industry. However, we have since learned that there are many additional individuals who are sick or dying from radiation exposure that are unable to receive compensation through RECA.

Recently, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled, "Examining the Eligibility Requirements for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program to Ensure all Downwinders Receive Coverage." We encourage the House Judiciary Committee to hold a similar hearing to hear the stories of those who sacrificed for our national security during the Cold War.

Sincerely,