Push for compensation for U.S. nuclear testing fallout resumes on Capitol Hill

Dozens of advocates are blanketing Capitol Hill this week to continue their push for Congress to revive a program that provided compensation for people suffering long-standing impacts from US nuclear testing programs.

A group of indigenous Americans and people suffering effects from the down-wind effects of atomic testing are calling on Congress to revive the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, a 34-year-old federal program that expired on June 7th.

Advocates say the program was a lifeline individuals sickened by the U.S. atomic testing program, including so-called atomic veterans. A group of about 50 people boarded a bus in Albuquerque early this week to make a 30-hour drive to Washington, D.C to make their case.

They are focused on convincing House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., hold a vote on a bill that passed the Senate in March to would renew and expand the program. They are facing resistance from some House Republicans who have raised concerns about the program's cost.

"That's really difficult for us is that when Speaker Johnson blocks this bill, he's saying no to over 50 Republican House districts that would benefit from RECA," advocate Tina Cordova, told NPR. "They make it out to be this issue of money... while we've been paying for it with our lives."

RECA advocates who will be on Capitol Hill this week include members of the Navajo Nation, Laguna Pueblo, Acoma Pueblo and Hopi tribes, as well as former uranium workers and a group of St. Louis women impacted by contamination issues in their community.

Advocates say those sickened by the tests have suffered from a multitude of radiation-related illnesses, including thyroid cancer and lung disease.

“So many in my family have suffered from