[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 703 Engrossed in House (EH)]


H. Res. 703

                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                         April 4, 2006.
Whereas April 26, 2006, marks the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear 
        disaster;
Whereas serious radiological, health, and socioeconomic consequences for the 
        populations of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, as well as for the 
        populations of other affected areas, have been identified since the 
        disaster;
Whereas the Chernobyl Forum, an initiative launched by the International Atomic 
        Energy Agency and supported by the World Health Organization, the United 
        Nations Development Program, and other United Nations agencies, as well 
        as by the governments of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, examined the 
        scientific evidence of the human health affects and the environmental 
        impact of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster;
Whereas the findings of the Chernobyl Forum, issued in September 2005, 
        significantly added to the understanding of the health consequences and 
        economic impact caused by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster;
Whereas the Chernobyl Forum found that approximately 5,000,000 people live in 
        areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia that were contaminated by 
        radioactivity;
Whereas the populations of the affected areas who were exposed as children have 
        experienced significant increases in thyroid cancer;
Whereas the lives and health of people in the affected areas continue to be 
        heavily burdened by the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster;
Whereas numerous charitable, humanitarian, and environmental organizations from 
        the United States and the international community are committed to 
        overcoming the extensive consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster;
Whereas the United States has sought to help the people of the affected areas 
        through various forms of assistance;
Whereas humanitarian assistance and public health research into the consequences 
        of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster will continue to be needed in the 
        coming decades when a large number of latent health effects are expected 
        to emerge;
Whereas the United States strongly supports improving nuclear safety in Ukraine;
Whereas, in 1997, the United States, the European Union, and Ukraine developed 
        the Shelter Implementation Plan for the purpose of protecting people and 
        the environment from the dangers of the large quantity of highly 
        radioactive material contained in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant;
Whereas as the United States is the largest single country donor to the 
        Chernobyl Shelter Fund, which was created with the purpose of funding 
        the Shelter Implementation Plan, having pledged a total of $203,000,000; 
        and
Whereas the most critical component of the Shelter Implementation Plan will be 
        the construction of a new shelter designed to better protect people and 
        the environment from the radioactive remains of the Chernobyl nuclear 
        power plant: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear 
        disaster and expresses sympathy for the ongoing effects of the disaster, 
        including adverse health consequences and deaths;
            (2) calls upon national and international health organizations to 
        focus their research into the public health consequences of the 
        Chernobyl nuclear disaster into areas identified by the Chernobyl 
        Shelter Fund, so that the global community can benefit from the findings 
        of such research;
            (3) supports continued United States assistance to the Chernobyl 
        Shelter Fund, the Shelter Implementation Plan, construction of a 
        facility to store spent nuclear fuel, and other efforts to mitigate the 
        consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster; and
            (4) urges other countries and the European Union to continue to 
        provide assistance to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, the Shelter 
        Implementation Plan, construction of a facility to store spent nuclear 
        fuel, and other efforts to mitigate the consequences of the Chernobyl 
        nuclear disaster.



            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.