Sen. Josh Hawley is threatening to derail the annual defense bill if it lacks language expanding compensation to more victims of radiation exposure from the federal government’s atomic bomb tests.
The provision, sponsored by
Hawley hasn’t been involved in negotiations with House leaders over the final version of the bill because he’s no longer a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), however, is a member of the panel.
‘Oppenheimer’ Measure Draws Support for Aid to Radiation Victims
Hawley didn’t point to any opposition from the House but expressed concern that the radiation exposure compensation provision may be dropped as part of closed-door negotiations.
“My message is: if this suddenly emerges from a backroom, and this provision is out, the defense bill is going to face tough sledding on the floor of the Senate,” Hawley told reporters on Tuesday. “I will put every hurdle in its place that I can and will do everything to kill it,” he said of the must-pass defense authorization legislation.
The House-passed defense policy bill (
The defense authorization bill is considered must pass because it authorizes troop pay raises and military construction projects as well as a host of military personnel and weapons policies. Those authorizations usually expire Dec.31.
Negotiators of the defense authorization bill have their first official meeting on Wednesday morning and lawmakers plan to file the compromise $886 billion legislation by the end of the week.
The Hawley measure would direct the government to augment existing federal benefits for more individuals who developed cancer and other diseases because of radiation contamination stemming from nuclear and uranium mining testing in the US, including as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II.
It would make eligible for compensation those St. Louis, Mo. residents as well as affected residents in other states exposed to radioactive waste dumped in their communities from the Manhattan Project. The defense bill amendment would cover eligible residents in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Guam.
Hawley earlier this year threatened to block Energy Department nominees “until we get some justice for the victims of radiation in St. Louis.”
The Senate measure would amend the 1990 Radiation Exposure Contamination Act and extend for 19 years the deadline for filing claims, recognizing that diseases caused by contamination can take years to manifest.
Congress last year extended the law until July 2024.
‘Moral Issue’
A group of activists from Missouri who have pushed for years for expanded benefits for victims suffering from cancer as a result of radiation exposure, some of them their children, joined Hawley at the Capitol on Tuesday.
“For so long, we’ve all been isolated in our own communities,” said Dawn Chapman with grassroots group Just Moms STL, who said her son is sick. Because of the bipartisan effort in the Senate, “we’ve been able to unite with the other communities across the nation that have gone through the exact same thing we have.” People are “counting on this legislation,” Chapman added.
“Our government did this to us:they poisoned us,” said Karen Nickel, also from Just Moms STL. Nickel said she has a five-year-old granddaughter who was “born with a mass on her ovary.”
“To me this is a moral issue,” Hawley said. He said he was worried the provision would be dropped because he didn’t have a voice in the defense authorization bill negotiations.
“My voice is, if you screw with my state, I’m going to screw with your bill just to be frank,” he said.
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