[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 29, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S6143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. McCAIN:
  S. 1895. A bill to amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act for 
purposes of making claims under such Act based on exposure to 
atmospheric nuclear testing; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce legislation that 
would amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, RECA, by adding 
Mohave County, AZ, to the list of counties eligible for downwinder 
compensation. A similar proposal was introduced today by Congress Paul 
Gosar. I am hopeful this bill will help close a painful chapter for 
those Arizonans who were arguably the most affected by nuclear weapons 
testing during the Cold War.
  In 1990, Congress enacted the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to 
compensate victims or their survivors who suffered certain illnesses 
caused by fallout exposure ``down wind'' of atmospheric nuclear weapons 
testing during the 1950's and 1960's. Among other requirements, 
eligibility is limited to individuals who can prove their physical 
presence in one of several affected counties. Astonishingly, despite 
its close proximity to the Nevada Test Site, the original RECA law and 
its subsequent amendments never listed Mohave County proper as an 
affected area. I believe the people of Mohave County deserve to see 
righted this unjust policy which has obstructed their ability to 
qualify for compensation.
  I understand that several of my colleagues have proposed similar RECA 
amendments in previous years. I would hope that these various RECA 
proposals give additional consideration to an April 2005 report by the 
National Academy of Sciences, NAS, that assessed, among other things, 
whether additional geographic areas should be added to the RECA 
program. The NAS study revealed a much wider area of radioactive 
fallout then originally identified when the RECA law was first written. 
The report also recommended replacing the geographic area criteria with 
a new science-based process for determining compensation eligibility, a 
method similar to what's used in the Radiation Exposed-Veterans 
Compensation Act and the Energy Employees Occupational Illness 
Compensation Program Act. I believe it is worthwhile for policy makers 
to consider the recommendations of the NAS report.
  This bill is an expansion of the RECA program and thus I will be 
working with my colleagues to find funding offsets to ensure there is 
no net increase in government spending if this legislation were 
enacted. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

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