Lawmakers Issue Bipartisan Call to Extend Benefits for Victims of Nuclear Testing

The program, which provides funds to residents of areas contaminated by fallout and to workers mining radioactive materials, is set to expire on June 10.

Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, Washington, on March 12, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Lawmakers are calling for House Speaker Mike Johnson (D-La.) to bring legislation to the floor that would renew and expand a compensation program for victims of radiation poisoning caused by atomic weapons testing.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was passed initially in 1990 to provide funds for residents of areas contaminated by fallout from atomic bomb tests from 1945 to 1962, or workers mining radioactive materials for the production of atomic weapons. It was extended in 2022 but is set to expire again on June 10.