Commending the People of the Republic of the Marshall Islands for the Contributions and Sacrifices They Made to the US Nuclear Testing Program

COMMENDING THE PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS FOR THE CONTRIBUTIONS AND SACRIFICES THEY MADE TO THE UNITED STATES NUCLEAR TESTING PROGRAM IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS -- (House of Representatives - April 04, 2006)

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Mr. CASE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 692, a resolution introduced by my esteemed colleague from American Samoa and Ranking Member of the House International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific--Congressman Eni Faleomavaega--commending the people of the Republic of the Marshall Islands for their incalculable contributions and sacrifices they made to the United States nuclear testing program throughout the 1940s and 1950s in the Marshall Islands.

This year will mark the 60th anniversary of the United States' commencement of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands. Over a period of twelve years, from 1946 to 1958, the United States of America conducted sixty-seven atmospheric nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands. The tests resulted in a combined yield of 108 megatons, roughly the destructive force of over 7,000 times that of the bomb used on Hiroshima. The worst of these tests, the Bravo shot, was a l5-megaton thermonuclear device, which in itself carried 1,000 times the destructive power of the Hiroshima bomb. It was detonated on March 1, 1954, on Bikini Atoll, and caused dangerous levels of radioactive fallout to be released over 7,000 square miles, including the populated atolls of Rongelap and Utrik.

It is vital that our country remember the contributions of the Marshallese to our national security and to world peace.

While recognizing such contributions, our country over the years has sought to address the legacy of our nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands in our initial Compact with the Republic of the Marshall Islands in 1986 and in our ongoing bilateral relations with the RMI government. Just recently, our governments renegotiated the compact agreement.

I am aware that the RMI government has filed a ``changed circumstances'' petition with the U.S. government, which still must be negotiated. It is time our country come to closure on the changed circumstances petition and address our country's long-standing nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands and its ramifications on the lives of its residents, particularly those of the affected atolls. I also believe that we must ensure that the U.S. Department of Energy's medical assistance program is fulfilling its obligation to its beneficiaries in the Marshall Islands.

I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 692 and to work on addressing these crucial remaining issues.

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