Heinrich, N.M. Delegation Push for House RECA Vote
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) joined advocates for a press conference calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to hold a vote on a Senate-passed bill that would strengthen the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). It has been over five months since Heinrich helped secure Senate passage of RECA.
Heinrich has reintroduced legislation to extend and expand RECA since his first Senate term, starting in 2013.
Heinrich urges House Speaker Mike Johnson to hold a vote on Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) legislation at a press conference in the Capitol on September 24, 2024.
“Now that the Senate has passed an extension and long overdue expansion of RECA, Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans must finally take up this critical legislation,” said Heinrich. “It is long overdue for Congress to finally amend RECA to include Tularosa Downwinders, all of the uranium miners exposed to radiation in service to our national defense, and all Americans who were directly impacted by our nation’s nuclear testing program. The federal government has a moral responsibility to correct this injustice.”
Find pictures of Heinrich speaking at the press conference here.
Heinrich recently pressed Speaker Mike Johnson to immediately take up the Senate-passed and fully comprehensive RECA extension in bipartisan, bicameral letter. The letter, led by Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), said in part: “We urge action immediately to strengthen the RECA program before its impending sunset in June 2024. The United States government exposed these Americans to radiation as part of our national security efforts through World War II and the Cold War. It is long past time that RECA is strengthened to give these Americans their recognition and compensation. Their livelihoods, often devastated by the long-term consequences of radiation exposure, depend on your leadership and commitment to rectifying past injustices. Let us honor the commitment we made to these citizens by ensuring they receive the support and recognition they so rightly deserve.” Read the full letter here.
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