U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) today gave remarks on the Senate floor, urging the House of Representatives to pass his legislation to reauthorize and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which has already passed the Senate twice.
Senator Hawley’s speech comes after a new Wall Street Journal opinion piece this week claimed victims of Manhattan Project-era testing in various parts of the country were “never harmed” and are undeserving of government compensation.
“This country’s success in the second world war and in the Cold War was driven by our nuclear program. […] It was made possible by the work and sacrifices of everyday Americans in states like New Mexico and Arizona, and, yes, my home state of Missouri where we processed uranium for the government,” Senator Hawley explained.
“I read today in The Wall Street Journal yet another attack on these good Americans, an attack that appears to have the support of members of Congress […] I don’t know how anybody—why anybody—would want to attack victims of nuclear radiation,” said Senator Hawley. “And they’re not just victims, Mr. President. They’re heroes.”
Senator Hawley announced that he will host nuclear-radiation advocates on Capitol Hill next week in a renewed push to pass RECA in the House.
Background
Senator Hawley has been a leading voice in securing just compensation for radiation victims in Missouri—and across the nation.
In March, the Senate passed—for the second time—Senator Hawley’s legislation to reauthorize and expand RECA by a strong bipartisan vote of 69-30.
Days before that vote, he sent a letter to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers General Scott Spellmon and Colonel Andy Pannier, criticizing them for concealing cleanup efforts in St. Louis after reports detailed more radioactive contamination in residents’ homes.
Senator Hawley brought Dawn Chapman—co-founder of grassroots advocacy group “Just Moms” in St. Louis and longtime advocate for victims of nuclear contamination—as his guest to the 2024 State of the Union address.
In February, Senator Hawley sent a letter to his Republican colleagues in the Senate urging them to reauthorize RECA.
He has also delivered remarks at the Senate numerous times this year and last, criticizing Senate leadership for ignoring Americans poisoned by federal actions while funding foreign wars.
Following its first Senate passage in July 2023, Senator Hawley’s RECA reauthorization was later stripped from that year’s NDAA by congressional leadership.
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