[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 25, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S3960]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRINITY SITE RECOGNITION

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Thank you very much, Madam President, and I 
thank my colleague from the Foreign Relations Committee for a very good 
speech on a critical issue that our Nation faces right now.
  On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was exploded at the Trinity 
site in New Mexico. For residents of the Tularosa Basin, it marked the 
beginning of decades of cancer, chronic illness, and suffering that 
continues to this day.
  Next month there will be a candlelight vigil organized by the 
Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium. Folks will once again gather as 
they have done now for each year for the past 5 years. They will stand 
shoulder to shoulder, they will light candles, and they will remember. 
They will remember that an injustice was done and has yet to be 
righted.
  The Trinity explosion paid little attention to surrounding 
communities. Radioactive debris fell from the sky, killing cattle, 
poisoning water, poisoning food, the air we breathe. The damage was 
done and would remain long after the test was finished, for 
generations. The suffering it caused is very real and so is the 
sadness, disappointment, and anger. Attention was not paid then, but it 
must be paid now.
  That is why I have introduced legislation in this Congress to amend 
the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to recognize the Trinity site, 
to include the New Mexicans who have suffered for decades, who still 
wait for justice, who still wait for compensation from the Federal 
Government for their injuries almost 70 years later--still waiting.
  We cannot change the past. We cannot restore the lives of those who 
have passed away or erase the years of health problems, the years of 
suffering endured by too many and for too long, but fair compensation 
will make a difference and provide badly needed help.
  The original RECA legislation required years of work on the ground. 
My father helped lay the groundwork for RECA a quarter of a century 
ago. Through his work with radiation exposure survivors and their 
families, compiling stories and records and histories of victims, the 
Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium continues this critical work and 
I encourage them to keep up the fight.
  This is a bipartisan effort and driven by simple fairness for 
American citizens who should have been helped but were ignored instead. 
Our bill would expand the downwind exposure area to include seven 
States from the Trinity and Nevada test sites and would include Guam 
from the Pacific side. It would also help post-1971 uranium miners to 
be eligible for compensation and it would fund a critical public health 
study of those who live and work in uranium development communities.
  I will continue to push for this legislation. It is the right thing 
to do, and we should get it done.
  When folks gather in Tularosa and stand together as candles flicker 
in the New Mexico sky, we will take a moment and remember those who 
have been affected by cancer, who have been brought down by radiation-
related diseases, and we will remember those who passed away and those 
who continue to suffer. We offer our prayers and support to those who 
are still fighting. We stand with you. We know you have suffered. We 
know justice has not been done, and we will not rest until it is.
  I wish to commend the Tularosa Downwinders Consortium, folks such as 
Tina Cordova and the late Fred Tyler, who will be greatly missed--great 
advocates, dedicated, committed, and refusing to give up. Thank you for 
making your voices heard, making your stories known, and for not giving 
up the fight. Together we will work for fairness until the day comes 
that we can stand together in Tularosa and light candles of celebration 
that justice has been done.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.

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