nuclear testing

Last summer, Congress allowed a program to compensate victims of Cold War-era radiation exposure to expire. Now, a new bipartisan effort to both revive and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act is picking up steam.

In June, Congress allowed a 34-year-old federal law that compensates victims of Cold War-era radiation exposure to lapse. Now, an effort is underway to pressure lawmakers to renew and expand the program before the end of the current lame-duck session.

Advocates have worked for years to bring awareness to the lingering effects of radiation exposure on the Navajo Nation, where millions of tons of uranium ore were extracted over decades to support nuclear activities.

The Democratic officials sent a letter Wednesday to congressional leaders, saying “it’s time for the federal government to give back to those who sacrificed so much.”

President Joe Biden said he’s open to granting assistance for people sickened by exposure to radiation during nuclear weapons testing, including in New Mexico, where the world’s first atomic bomb was tested in 1945.

A bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate aims to expand eligibility for federal compensation to those exposed to radiation in the Southwest during the Cold War.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a short-term extension of a federal law that provides compensation to residents and workers in the West who were exposed to radiation during the Cold War.

Federal benefits for people in the West exposed to radiation during the Cold War are set to expire next year. But recent amendments under consideration in Congress would extend the program and broaden eligibility.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is renewing a push to expand a U.S. compensation program for people who were exposed to radiation following uranium mining…

The Navajo Nation Council is pushing for the renewal of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, slated to expire next year. The program currently…