Gallego: NDAA Fails Arizona Downwinders, Uranium Miners
WASHINGTON, DC – Today. Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-03), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations and Conferee for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), released the following statement after Senate-passed language to expand access to benefits under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) were left out of the NDAA.
Statement from Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-03):
“I am deeply disappointed this year’s NDAA fails thousands of Arizonans. Generations of Arizonans were exposed to deadly radiation from nuclear testing and uranium mining – yet they were never compensated. It is unconscionable that the NDAA – the year’s most significant national security policy legislation – does not fix this injustice.
“But the fight is not over. I’m continuing to work with colleagues from both sides of the aisle, in the House and Senate, and in lockstep with our country’s nuclear-impacted communities to extend and expand RECA. I won’t rest until every Arizonan unwittingly harmed by radiation gets the compensation they deserve.”
Background
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) compensates those injured due to exposure to radiation from nuclear testing and uranium production. Rep. Gallego voted to extend RECA for two years in May 2022.
Earlier this year, Rep. Gallego announced his support for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments and the Downwinders Parity Act – two bills to provide compensation and justice for Arizonans exposed to radiation from nuclear testing and uranium mining.
The RECA Amendments would strengthen RECA, including by extending the program to cover uranium miners who mined after 1971 and delaying the program’s sunset date.
The Downwinders Parity Act, which is included as part of the comprehensive RECA Amendments, expands RECA to include all of Mohave County, Arizona.