House Democrats dig in amid ongoing fight in Congress over compensation for US radiation victims

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A top Democrat in the U.S. House says it will take a shift of power in Congress to ensure that legislation is finally passed to extend and expand a compensation program for people exposed to radiation following uranium mining and nuclear testing carried out by the federal government.

Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar joined Tuesday with members of New Mexico congressional delegation to call on voters to put more pressure on Republican House leaders to revive the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

With his party seeking to win back majorities in Congress, the California congressman made campaign pitches for New Mexico Democrats and vowed they would support the multibillion-dollar compensation program.

“I would say this is both a failure in government and this is a failure in leadership,” Aguilar said, referencing House inaction on the legislation.

The Senate passed the bill earlier this year, only for it to stall in the House over concerns by some Republican lawmakers about cost. GOP supporters in the Senate had called on House leadership to take up a vote on the measure, but the act ended up expiring in June.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> RELATED COVERAGE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Jon Stewart pushes VA to cover troops sickened by uranium after 9/11. Again, they are told to wait </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Jon Stewart pushes VA to help veterans sickened after post-9/11 exposure to uranium </bsp-custom-headline>