ST. LOUIS – The fight continues for thousands of radiation exposure victims to receive compensation.
A two-day trip to Washington, D.C., was full of meetings with lawmakers from across the country.
“I don’t think that we ran across any that were opposed to RECA. Some needed more information, which was the goal of this trip—for us to educate those that are still kind of iffy on what RECA is,” Karen Nickel of Just Moms STL said.
Nickel and Dawn Chapman, co-founders of Just Moms STL, returned to St. Louis after their third trip to the capitol in six months. Victims of radiation exposure from the Manhattan Project in other communities also joined the trip.
“I watched an entire generation of my community decimated. I grew up thinking that when you hit your late 20s, early 30s, you contracted cancer because my friends, my family members, their parents and such, they were all getting cancer during that time,” Matthew Capalby with Downwinders of Mohave, Arizona, said.
Some communities across the country are receiving compensation but it is set to expire.
“About 50% of the uranium that was mined in the 1940s came from the Navajo Nation, and still we have over 500 abandoned uranium mines,” Crystalyne Curley, Navajo Nation Council, said.
“Not only are we talking about the health effects but also the cleanup efforts that we also continue to ask for.”
Sen. Josh Hawley’s original filing for the reauthorization included the state of Missouri. Thursday, he included Alaska, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
Advocates said the RECA bill is crucial for their community. Sen. Hawley’s filling still needs approval before it is added to the foreign aid bill, something he said he will vote for if the RECA amendment is added.
“My message to them is we’re going to vote again on this until it passes and don’t leave these good people behind. Do not allow Americans to die—because they will die unless we reauthorize this program and update it,” Sen. Hawley said.