A nuclear bomb test described in the Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer last year exposed southern New Mexicans to radiation that lingered for generations leading to cancers and other health problems.
The blast, set off in 1945 in a then-reported unpopulated desert region, affected those living in rural communities like Carrizozo and Tularosa, and decades later the descendants of the victims of the Trinity Site lobbied to see the federal government provide reparations.
Reparation would come in payments to offset medical bills for conditions tied to the test under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) passed in 1990. The RECA program offers single payments to nuclear workers in northern New Mexico affected by uranium mining and residents near the Nevada Test Site known as “downwinders” in several states.
But New Mexico has downwinders of its own, and advocates argued the RECA program should be expanded to include more states. A bill was passed by the Senate March 7, sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to do so, offering payments to an expanded list of states including New Mexico, and increasing the amount available per person from $50,000 to $100,000.
Amid consideration of Hawley’s bill, Republicans in the U.S. House signaled they would propose an alternative bill to extend RECA by another two years, past its present sunset on June 7, 2024, without adding any additional eligible states or downwinders. The measure was initially supported by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.), but drew outcry from various organizations and other Republican members.
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On May 29, Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) confirmed via X that GOP leadership was pulling its proposal from a scheduled floor vote.
“It’s great news for MO that House leadership listened to my concerns & those of my constituents & pulled the Floor vote on this misguided proposal. We’re going to keep fighting for expansion of RECA so Missourians impacted by radiation get the support & compensation they deserve,” Wagner tweeted.
Extending the program without expanding eligibility was “not a solution,” said Tina Cordova of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, as she argued more Americans deserved compensation for injuries Cordova said were caused by federal nuclear programs.
“A two-year extension of the current RECA program is not a solution for all those American citizens that were unwittingly harmed by the U.S government’s development and testing of nuclear devices,” Cordova said. “The people of New Mexico and everyone else that have been horribly harmed by our government deserve better.”
She said her group and downwinders from other states not included in the program would continue lobbying to see RECA expanded.
“We will not give up this fight. We will not go away quietly,” Cordova said. “Eventually the members of the U.S. House who currently treat us like nothing more than collateral damage will have to come to terms with us.”
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Lilly Adams, senior outreach coordinator for the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists said the current version of RECA, which was last extended in 2022, was “flawed” in that it excluded thousands of Americans from coverage Adams said they were due.
“Radiation is not a natural disaster, but a man made one, by our own government. It would be heartless for Speaker Johnson to turn his back on these communities,” Adams said in a statement. “It would confirm that the government is letting people die before taking responsibility for its recklessness.”
Pulling the bill from a vote was supported by U.S. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) was said via X that it was the “right decision” by Johnson. Leger Fernandez herself introduced past bills to include New Mexico downwinders in the RECA program, increase payments to $150,000 and expand the list of eligible cancers that would incur payments under the program. Leger Fernandez, along with Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) introduced that bill in 2021 and reintroduced it in July 2023.
In her May 29 tweet, Leger Fernandez called on the House to hold a vote on Hawley’s bill which she said would provide adequate coverage to those impacted by the Trinity Site and nuclear activities throughout history.
“Speaker Johnson did the right thing pulling this vote on a RECA extension bill that left out so many. Let’s vote on the bipartisan expansion bill that gives all victims of radiation exposure compensation before any more die,” read the tweet.
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516,achedden@currentargus.com or@AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.
