[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 38 (Monday, March 4, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MARK TAKAI ATOMIC VETERANS HEALTHCARE PARITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GRACE MENG

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 4, 2019

  Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 4,000 veterans 
who participated in the nuclear cleanup of Enewetak Atoll, the site of 
43 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. The servicemembers who 
participated in its nuclear cleanup between 1977 and 1980 suffer from 
high rates of cancers due to their exposure to radiation and nuclear 
waste.
  That is why, on February 26th, I introduced the ``Mark Takai Atomic 
Veterans Healthcare Parity Act''. This bill would permit veterans who 
participated in the nuclear cleanup of Enewetak Atoll to be treated as 
``radiation-exposed veterans.'' This change in law will allow 
servicemembers who performed the largest nuclear cleanup ever 
undertaken to receive the medical care they now need for service-
connected cancers and diseases. Current law only covers servicemembers 
who participated in active nuclear tests, not those who participated in 
the cleanup.
  These veterans served our nation with honor and distinction, but are 
currently unable to receive the same treatments and service-related 
disability presumptions that other ``radiation-exposed veterans'' 
receive.
  Madam Speaker, of the 4,000 veterans who risked their lives on the 
radiological cleanup of Enewetak Atoll, only about ten percent are 
alive today. These survivors, who are now in their late 50s and 60s, 
have cancer and are fighting for their lives.
  This legislation is named after the late Rep. Mark Takai--a veteran 
of the U.S. Army and Hawaii Army National Guard who passed away in 
2016--and who originally introduced the bill in the 114th Congress.
  Madam Speaker, my hope is that Congress will finally right this 
wrong, and help the men and women who sacrificed their youth and health 
in service of this great nation.

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