Tell your U.S. Rep: vote in favor of justice for radiation victims September 25, 2024

This year, momentum has built up behind legislation to finally bring justice to victims of radiation harm from the nuclear weapons enterprise. Help get this legislation over the finish line. From September 24-26, over 50 Indigenous radiation survivors from the Navajo Nation, Laguna Pueblo, Acoma Pueblo and Hopi tribe are in Washington, DC to urge Congress to re-initiate and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). They will participate in Congressional office visits, a press conference with supportive members of Congress, a march, and prayers. Let’s back them up by demanding action from our U.S. Representatives.

The RECA program provides health screenings and financial assistance to those harmed by exposure to radiation by the U.S. nuclear weapons program. Thousands have been denied compensation for decades in the original RECA, which took effect in 1990 and expired in June of this year. In March, Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) successfully passed RECA expansion in the Senate (S. 3853) by a wide, bipartisan margin. However, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has refused to schedule a vote on S. 3853 in the House.

PSR is heavily invested in promoting environmental justice for impacted communities. “This is not a partisan issue and we should never view it that way — and to actually tell us that the reason for not passing the bill is that it’s going to cost too much — when we have spent trillions of dollars on our nuclear arsenal — is obscene,” said Tina Cordova, Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium and PSR Health Hero award winner.

Use this link to send an email to urge your U.S. Representative to re-initiate and expand RECA.