Arizona Downwinders Advocate
The week of Sept. 12, 2022 brought members of the Union of Concerned Scientists to Washington, D.C. to meet with legislators on Capitol Hill to inform them of the plight of the Downwinders to gain further support by encouraging the legislators to sign on to co-sponsor S.2798 and H.R.5338 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) amendments of 2022.
Sherrie Hanna, an Arizona Downwinder Advocate, was invited to accompany the group to testify in support of the bills. RECA provides compensation to people exposed to radiation from U.S. nuclear weapons testing and uranium mining. Passage of the bills would extend RECA and expand coverage to multiple communities exposed to radiation.
The two bills would expand the program by 19 years and:
- Expand Downwinder eligibility areas to Idaho, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Guam and all of Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
- Expand the uranium worker eligibility period, including additional categories of uranium workers.
- Expand the number of compensable illnesses.
- Increase the compensation to reflect the costs of care and inflation: past successful claimants to receive the difference
- Provide health care benefits
This bill has broad bipartisan support. See www.expandreca.org for more information.
