The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (“the Act” or “RECA”), 42 U.S.C. § 2210 note, established an administrative program for claims relating to atmospheric nuclear testing and uranium industry employment. The Act delegated authority to the Attorney General to establish procedures and make determinations regarding whether claims satisfy statutory eligibility criteria. Source Link
The United States Radiation Exposure Compensation Act is a federal statute implemented in 1990, set to expire in July 2024, providing for the monetary compensation of people, including atomic veterans, who contracted cancer and a number of other specified diseases as a direct result of their exposure to atmospheric nuclear testing undertaken by the United States during the Cold War as residents, or their exposure to radon gas and other radioactive isotopes while undertaking uranium mining, milling or the transportation of ore. Wikipedia
To learn more, please check out the history of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) expired as of June 07, 2024. The U.S. Senate passed an amendment – Senate S. 3853 bill in March 2024.
The Senate bill was then sent to the House of Representative, where it has sat on Speaker of the House – Mike Johnson’s desk, ever since, instead of being put onto the House Floor for a vote.
By statute, the period to file a claim under RECA has ended. Only claims postmarked on and before June 10, 2024, will be filed and adjudicated. Source Link
June 7, 2024
Radiation Victims Call House Speaker’s Choice to Let Help Expire “a Betrayal”
Frontline Communities Vow to Continue to Fight for Justice
Published Jun 7, 2024 – Article Link
May 29, 2024
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, originally passed by Congress in 1990, offers compensation to uranium miners and civilians who were downwind of nuclear bomb testing in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. It expires June 10, and for months, advocates and members of Congress — especially from Missouri and New Mexico — have been lobbying Congress to expand it.
U.S. senators have twice passed legislation that would expand RECA, but it hasn’t gone anywhere in the House of Representatives. The legislation would add the remaining parts of Arizona, Utah and Nevada to the program and bring coverage to downwinders in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and Guam. It would also offer coverage for residents exposed to radioactive waste in Missouri, Tennessee, Alaska and Kentucky. https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/speaker-johnson-lets-radiation-aid-expire
Source Link: Missouri Independent Article
Senate Passes Amendment to the RECA bill:
Amendment under S. 3853 would add additional coverage; See chart below*.
*Note: Some of the coverage in Green would be for certain zip codes and not apply to the entire state.
