Radiation Exposure Victims Sound Alarm Anew on Program Lapse

Advocates for victims of cancer-causing radiation from the government’s nuclear testing are again urging Congress to enact legislation during the lame-duck session that would expand federal benefits.

The Senate in March passed a bipartisan bill (S. 3853) to reauthorize and broaden the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, but the House so far has declined to take up the more expansive legislation over cost concerns.

The two-year RECA program extension lawmakers passed in 2022 expired in June, putting the program in limbo and leaving eligible claimants out of the pipeline as of June 10. Individuals exposed to radiation ...