[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 80 (Wednesday, May 11, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4813-H4816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECA EXTENSION ACT OF 2022

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(S. 4119) to reauthorize the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 4119

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``RECA Extension Act of 
     2022''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE RADIATION EXPOSURE 
                   COMPENSATION ACT.

       (a) In General.--Section 3(d) of the Radiation Exposure 
     Compensation Act (Public Law 101-426; 42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking the first sentence and inserting ``The Fund 
     shall terminate on the date that is 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of the RECA Extension Act of 2022.''; and
       (2) by striking ``22-year period'' and inserting ``2-year 
     period''.
       (b) Limitation on Claims.--Section 8(a) of the Radiation 
     Exposure Compensation Act (Public Law 101-426; 42 U.S.C. 2210 
     note) is amended by striking ``within 22 years after the date 
     of the enactment of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act 
     Amendments of 2000'' and inserting ``not later than 2 years 
     after the date of enactment of the RECA Extension Act of 
     2022''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 4119, the RECA Extension Act of 2022, would extend 
the life of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which is also 
known as RECA, a trust fund that needs to be extended by this bill for 
2 years after the date of the bill's enactment. Action is urgently 
needed because the RECA trust fund is currently set to expire on July 
10 of this year.
  The bill would also extend the time to file a RECA claim to within 2 
years after the date of enactment.
  Originally passed by Congress in 1990, RECA established a program 
administered by the Department of Justice to pay one-time compensation 
to individuals harmed by atmospheric testing of U.S. atomic weapons and 
to certain uranium mine workers who were harmed as they labored to 
produce the necessary raw materials for U.S. atomic weapon 
developments. During its over 30-year history, the RECA program has 
been improved and supported on a bipartisan basis.
  It is my hope that Congress will eventually adopt bipartisan 
legislation that will further extend the life of the program and expand 
eligibility to those who have been left out. For now, however, it is 
important that we extend the RECA trust fund for another 2 years while 
discussions on these measures continue.
  This legislation was introduced by Senator Mike Lee, and it passed 
the Senate by unanimous consent. Hopefully, we can send it on to the 
President's desk here in the House.
  I thank Representative Greg Stanton, a longtime champion of the RECA 
program, for his leadership. Through his efforts, the Judiciary 
Committee--my Subcommittee on The Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil 
Liberties--held a hearing and marked up legislation strengthening the 
RECA program, which helped pave the way for this bill.
  I also thank Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez who has been an 
active champion on this issue for her efforts to preserve and expand 
the RECA program. I also thank our former Member, now a Senator, 
Senator Lujan, who brought this to my attention originally. He has been 
a champion on this issue, too, for the people of New Mexico and the 
people affected all throughout the Western United States.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on S. 4119, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in 1990, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure 
Compensation Act, or RECA, to provide restitution to individuals who 
got sick from exposure to radiation as a result of the atomic bomb 
testing between 1945 and 1963. The goal of Congress in 1990 was to 
provide compensation to people whose health ailments were caused by the 
U.S. Government's activities.
  This intention can be seen in the one-time nature of the payments and 
in the specific geographic, time, and disease requirements for 
compensation. Congress last extended and expanded RECA in 2000 and 
directed that the fund sunset in July of 2022. As that date has drawn 
closer, there have been bipartisan and bicameral conversations about 
potentially extending and expanding RECA.
  This bill is a clean, 2-year extension of that statute. It does not 
change the terms; it simply maintains the status quo to provide more 
time for these conversations to take place. As Congress continues to 
consider RECA, we must keep in mind the evidence before us.
  In 2005, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 
Medicine completed a congressionally mandated

[[Page H4814]]

study and concluded that Congress should not simply expand eligibility 
in RECA based on geography alone. As this study explained:

       In most cases it is unlikely that exposure to radiation 
     fallout was a substantial or contributing cause to any 
     developing cancer.

  No one here disputes that if the Federal Government recklessly took 
actions that led to our citizens getting cancer, we should provide 
compensation for that harm. That is why Congress passed RECA in 1990 
and why it was extended in 2000. However, this program should not 
become an endless program in the name of unclear evidence and political 
expediency.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Stanton).
  Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Cohen for his leadership 
on this issue. Arizona and New Mexico get along very, very well, 
particularly on this important issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 4119, the RECA Extension 
Act of 2022.
  Since 1990, RECA has provided payments to more than 37,000 
individuals who have suffered health consequences due to the Federal 
Government's atomic weapons development and testing programs. We know 
an extension of RECA is necessary. There are still families filing 
claims for their fair share of restitution, and according to a recent 
publication of the CDC, many more individuals will develop cancers and 
illnesses linked to the radiation exposure in the years to come.
  But we also know that since its inception RECA has inexplicably 
excluded far too many downwinders from the program. Some Americans--
like uranium millers, miners, ore transporters, and those present at 
weapons testing sites--were exposed to radiation directly through 
their work, while others were exposed downwind just going about their 
daily routines as fallout from atmospheric testing blanketed their 
homes and communities.

  When the lines of eligibility were drawn for downwinders to access 
RECA funds, there existed a major flaw. Two counties--Clark County, 
Nevada; and Mohave County, Arizona--were only partially included. 
Although Mohave County has the highest age-adjusted rates of invasive 
cancer and the highest mortality rates from cancer of any county of 
Arizona, only the northern portion of the county is downwinder-
eligible. And in Nevada only the northeastern-most townships of Clark 
County are included, despite it practically sharing a border with the 
Nevada Testing Site where most of the atmospheric weapons testing 
occurred.
  Tragically, families in the lower portions of Mohave and Clark 
Counties have lost spouses, parents, siblings, and loved ones to 
radiation illnesses, and it is an absolute shame that they have been 
left behind by their Federal Government.
  Since I was elected to Congress, I have worked to remedy this 
decades-old injustice. It has been one of my top priorities, and my 
bill, the Downwinders Parity Act of 2021, would extend RECA eligibility 
to the rest of these two counties and deliver justice to many Americans 
who have been left behind.
  I am disappointed that this bill does not include more downwinders, 
but I am hopeful that with this 2-year extension we will have enough 
time to find a way forward to expand downwinder eligibility.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on S. 4119.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
gentlewoman from the great State of New Mexico (Ms. Herrell).
  Ms. HERRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the RECA Extension Act 
of 2022. This legislation is a critical step in making certain that 
those men and women who have been harmed by the development and testing 
that occurred at the dawn of the nuclear age are compensated and 
assisted by the government that put them in harm's way.
  My constituents--the uranium miners, mill workers, uranium ore 
transporters, and those who lived downwind of atmospheric nuclear tests 
deserve our thanks, deserve our compassion, and are now in need of our 
assistance.
  The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was scheduled to expire on 
July 10 of this year.
  The legislation before us extends the program unchanged for 2 years. 
This extension gives us the opportunity to amend this law to be more in 
keeping with the latest scientific data that indicates that there are 
additional classifications of workers and diseases that need to be 
included, as well as additional geographic areas that need to be added 
for those exposed to radiation from atmospheric nuclear weapons 
testing, including a significant population of my constituents in New 
Mexico.
  We should not view this extension as the chance to take a break from 
working on the shortcomings of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, 
but as a chance for us to work together in a bipartisan way to make 
things right, to change the damage and suffering of Americans who have 
been harmed by the radiation exposure due to government negligence.

                              {time}  1230

  Mr. Speaker, just last month, I held a meeting in Grants, New Mexico, 
where nearly 50 community members shared their stories. Many of these 
men and women were post-1971 uranium workers or downwinders who are not 
yet eligible for RECA benefits.
  Listening to their stories hit home that there is still a lot of work 
left to be done to make sure these people are made whole.
  The time to get around the table to reform RECA is now--not in 2 
years, not in a year, but now. I invite all Members of Congress to join 
me now in this work. Let's work out a legislative compromise to right 
these wrongs for the people of this great Nation.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens) to control the remainder of the time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Utah will control the 
time.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New 
Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez).
  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Cohen for his and 
his staff's tireless efforts on behalf of RECA.
  Last week, Congressman Owens and I led a bipartisan group of Members 
to request a vote on S. 4119. I am grateful to Speaker Pelosi and 
Leader Hoyer for bringing it before us today.
  In 1945, the U.S. Government detonated the first atomic bomb at the 
Trinity test site in New Mexico. The U.S. would go on to conduct more 
than 200 aboveground nuclear tests throughout the century.
  Uranium miners, many of whom are Latino or Native American in my home 
State, worked without the necessary health and safety protections and 
are still falling sick from radiation exposure.
  Downwinders everywhere who lived in communities around certain test 
sites continue to suffer from lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, and 
other deadly diseases directly linked to uranium and nuclear radiation.
  Too many have fallen sick from lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, and 
other deadly diseases because of the radiation exposure. This is an 
environmental injustice issue of the most explosive kind.
  This injustice necessitated the enactment of the bipartisan RECA in 
1990 to provide some compensation for these individuals. As we have all 
heard today, RECA is set to expire this summer, and we must not let 
that happen because more than 30 years later, too many downwinders and 
uranium workers continue to fall ill because of the government's 
nuclear testing program. They still deserve justice under the law.
  In fact, just last week, CDC scientists authored a letter that showed 
a substantial number of uranium miners could still develop diseases 
after July that would qualify them for RECA compensation.
  That letter points out that some of the cancers are 4,040 percent 
higher than the standard population. Imagine that. It can only be 
attributed to the uranium mines and exposure.
  S. 4119 will extend RECA as it currently exists for 2 years.
  I must note that, yes, every schoolchild knows where the first atomic 
bomb was exploded, and it was

[[Page H4815]]

in New Mexico. But for some inexplicable reason, New Mexico was left 
out as those places where downwinders needed and were eligible for 
compensation.
  As noted by almost every speaker this morning, we must use this time 
to quickly work on making sure that RECA is corrected so that it 
applies to all those who are harmed by atomic testing, including in 
those counties in Arizona, those places in Utah, and those places in 
New Mexico.
  Mr. Speaker, I include the letter titled ``Health burdens of uranium 
miners will extend beyond the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act 
deadline'' in the Record.

                 [From Occup. Environ. Med., May 2022]

   Health Burdens of Uranium Miners Will Extend Beyond the Radiation 
                   Exposure Compensation Act Deadline

       The US Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) is a 
     government compensation programme, which provides partial 
     restitution to individuals whose health was affected by 
     nuclear weapons testing or uranium industry employment. RECA 
     covers US uranium miners employed between 1942 and 1971 who 
     developed or died from lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, 
     silicosis, pneumoconiosis or pulmonale related to lung 
     fibrosis. RECA is set to terminate this year. The filing 
     deadline for living claimants or spouses of deceased 
     claimants is 10 July 2022. To access evidence of whether 
     uranium miners will continue to develop compensable diseases 
     after the termination of RECA, was examined mortality rate 
     trends within the US Colorado Plateau uranium miner cohort.
       The US Colorado Plateau cohort includes 4137 underground 
     uranium miners employed for at least 1 month and with one or 
     more medical screenings between 1950 and 1960. Underlying 
     cause of death was ascertained through 2016 using the US 
     National Death Index. Person time began in 1960 when 
     reference mortality rates were available. Person time ended 
     at date of death, date lost to follow-up or the end of 
     follow-up (2016). The cohort does not include millers or ore 
     transporters. Details on cohort inclusion criteria, vital 
     status, mortality ascertainment, outcome definition and 
     standard population rates reported in a previous study.
       We calculated standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) and 
     corresponding 95% CIs overall and by decade of calendar 
     period (1960-1969, . . ., 2000-2009, 2010-2016) for 
     silicosis, interstitial pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and 
     pneumoconiosis, which are compensable for uranium miners 
     under RECA. SMRs were adjusted for age and calendar period 
     (5-year groups) and racialisation (white or American Indian). 
     Regional standard mortality rates for all outcomes were based 
     on data from New Mexico and Arizona for American Indian 
     Miners.
       From 1960 to 2016, there were 64 IPF deaths, 49 
     pneumoconiosis deaths and 52 silicosis deaths in the cohort. 
     Overall, the IPF mortality rates were 380% higher than the 
     standard population (SMR 4.8; 95%CI 3.7 to 6.1) 
     pneumoconiosis mortality rates were 3860% higher than the 
     standard population (SMR 39.6; 95%CI 29.3 to 52.3), and 
     silicosis rates were 4040% higher than the standard 
     population (SMR 41.4; 95%CI 30.9 to 54.3).
       For all three causes of death, rates were higher in more 
     recent calendar periods. IPF rates were lowest in 1960-1969 
     (observed=2, SMR=2.0; 95%CI 0.2 to 7.1) and highest in 2010-
     2016 (observed=12, SMR=68.7; 95%CI 35.4 to 120.0) but 
     remained substantially elevated in the 2010-2016 period 
     (observed=13, SMR=56.4, 95%CI 30.0 to 96.4). Silicosis 
     mortality was also elevated in later calendar periods, with 
     the highest SMR in 1980-1989 (observed=17, SMR=75.7; 95%CI 
     44. to 121.2). In 2010-2016, silicosis mortality rates 
     remained substantively higher than the standard population 
     (observed=6, SMR=61.5; 95%CI 22.4 to 133.8).
       While the majority of US uranium mining activities ceased 
     by the mid-1990's, the health effects of uranium mining 
     persist. An important public health implication of our SMR 
     analysis is that former uranium miners in the US continue to 
     die of IPF, silicosis, and pneumoconiosis at a far higher 
     rate than the comparable general population over our period 
     of study; SMRs are elevated overall, increase with advancing 
     calendar period and persist over time. This analysis suggests 
     that former uranium miners will develop RECA-eligible 
     diseases after RECA ends.
       The inferences from these SMRs extend beyond the Colorado 
     Plateau cohort. The Colorado Plateau uranium miner cohort 
     represents only a small sample of the total US uranium miner 
     population. The uranium industry employed tens of thousands 
     of workers,\1\ perhaps as many as 30,000 workers minded 
     uranium under-ground.\4\ So, the Colorado Plateau cohort 
     represents only about 5%-15% of the total uranium miner 
     population. This figure does not include the population of 
     uranium millers, surface miners and ore transporters, who are 
     also eligible for RECA funds. Based on the SMRs by calendar 
     period and estimates of the total uranium miner population, 
     it is expected that we will continue to observe many IPF, 
     silicosis, and pneumoconiosis deaths in this group of workers 
     after the planned termination of RECA. Although only 11% of 
     the cohort was still alive at the end of 2016 and the median 
     age of surviving miners over 80, there are younger RECA-
     eligible miners not in our Colorado Plateau cohort. The 
     latest year of hire in the cohort was 1960, while RECA-
     eligible miners could have been hired through 1971. It is 
     difficult to accurately estimate the number of miners that 
     would be affected by the termination of RECA, but the 
     approximations above indicate that a substantial number of 
     miners could still develop compensable diseases.
       This analysis was limited by using cause of death data 
     rather than disease incidence data. Although these 
     respiratory diseases are highly fatal, there are likely more 
     miners in the cohort who developed these diseases but did not 
     have deaths attributed to them. And, based on the long 
     latency and induction periods of these respiratory diseases 
     we expect additional incident cases to occur. This analysis 
     is also limited because mortality follow-up only extends 
     through 2016. But even if SMRs started to decrease subsequent 
     to 2016, they would still likely be in excess compared with 
     the standard population after 10 July 2022 when RECa 
     terminates given that these SMRs have been substantially 
     elevated since at least 1970, and for IPF, the number of 
     observed cases appears to have increased since that time.
       This analysis is based on uranium miners first employed 
     between 1950 and 1960, but more contemporary miners are also 
     at elevated risk of respiratory disease. Although they may be 
     exposed at a lower intensity, these miners were still exposed 
     to radon, silica dust and other agents that increase the risk 
     of developing RECA-compensable diseases. A recent study from 
     the large international Pooled Uranium Miner Analysis showed 
     that miners first hired 1965 or later experience elevated 
     lung cancer (observed=856, SMR=1.34; 95%CI 1.26 to 1.44).\5\ 
     Clinical data also indicated that workers employed after 1971 
     have a high burden of respiratory disease.\6\
       The examination of non-malignant respiratory mortality 
     rates in the Colorado Plateau cohort indicates that uranium 
     mining conditions still cause a considerable health burden to 
     workers that will continue into the foreseeable future. RECA 
     has been amended in the past to be more consistent with 
     scientific results, although these amendments were 
     delayed.\4\ This study finds that there will likely be more 
     uranium miners who develop occupational disease after the 
     planned termination of RECA benefits.

  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. I urge my colleagues to similarly support the 
passage of the RECA extension as was done in the Senate.
  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Nevada (Ms. Titus).
  Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, 77 years ago at White Sands, New Mexico, we 
tested the first atomic bomb. This was followed by nearly half a 
century of aboveground tests, mostly at a Nevada test site not far from 
my district.
  During this time, thousands of men and women were exposed to harmful 
levels of radiation, and they continue to experience health 
difficulties to this day.
  Congress established RECA in 1990 to provide one-time payments to 
many of these harmed individuals. With RECA set to expire July 1, I 
support Senator Lee's bipartisan bill to extend the program. But I hope 
we can also soon bring to the floor H.R. 5338, which passed out of the 
Judiciary Committee in December.
  Led by Congresswoman Leger Fernandez, this bill would expand the 
eligibility of RECA to cover additional diseases and additional 
communities like the uranium miners. It would also increase benefits to 
account for inflation.
  We need to step up to help these warriors just as we leave no other 
warriors on the battlefield.
  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I extended some remarks a little earlier that 
I am going to repeat, but I wanted to just say, first of all, this has 
been a remarkable experience for me to see the bipartisanship that we 
have been able to come together with.
  I thank Congresswoman Leger Fernandez. I really appreciate the 
support, reaching out, what we have been able to do to get this done.
  I think, most importantly, even those who might not agree, we saw in 
this process who can respectfully agree to disagree. We still moved 
this forward, so we have something that is not only bipartisan but 
bicameral. We have had support in the Senate, and I just can't say 
enough how much I appreciate the opportunity to experience this.
  It is going to be good for the citizens throughout the Western part 
of our country, and I look forward to being able to take this a little 
bit further as we continue to have this conversation over the next 
coming months and years.

[[Page H4816]]

  S. 4119 is a clean and simple extension of the existing Radiation 
Exposure Compensation Act. It represents an incredible and increasingly 
rare achievement here in Congress: a bipartisan solution to a 
nonpartisan problem.
  During 1945 and 1962, the United States conducted over 100 
aboveground nuclear tests, releasing harmful radiation material into 
the air and literally blanketing parts of the United States, including 
Utah, with poisonous dust.
  RECA, championed by the late Senator Orrin Hatch, was a lifeline for 
thousands of downwinders whose lives were lost or forever changed 
because of this exposure.
  Unless Congress acts, the program will expire in 2 months. That will 
leave downwinders like Sara Penny of Cedar City, Utah, behind. Her 
story was cataloged in the ``Downwinders of Utah Archive.''
  Penny was born in 1953, the same year the ``Dirty Harry'' bomb was 
tested in Nevada. She said: ``We knew we could die any day from about 
fifth grade. Our piano teacher's daughter . . . died of leukemia.''
  Her grandfather died of leukemia. Her aunt died of breast cancer. Her 
cousin had a bone marrow transplant from his brother but died anyway. 
Her high school classmate died earlier from a brain tumor. Her cousin 
got breast cancer.
  Her story is tragic but not unique. Too many downwinders are 
suffering. Just last week, I heard from constituents who were starting 
the process of applying for RECA benefits. These are individuals who 
lived in the shadows of radiation released in our beautiful Western 
skies.
  We have a chance to make right what the Federal Government got wrong 
when it conducted these nuclear tests in our backyard. We just cannot 
walk away from RECA.
  For Sara and the downwinders, please join me, please join us, in 
voting ``yes'' on S. 4119, the RECA Extension Act of 2022.
  I again thank Congresswoman Leger Fernandez. It has been an honor to 
work with her, and we will get this pushed through. I look forward to 
it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, we reiterate that the trust fund expires on 
July 10 with the need for this vital program to remain present in law. 
The Representatives from Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada have all made 
that clear, as have others.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important 
legislation. Now that the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus) has taken 
the chair, I yield back the balance of my time and ask for a positive 
``aye'' vote.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Titus). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 4119.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________