Save RECA!

When Congress created RECA in 1990 they neglected to include all of the communities impacted by nuclear weapons, including New Mexico, the home of the first ever nuclear test. Last year, a group of bipartisan senators led the effort to extend RECA nineteen more years and include the communities that desperately need it. Unfortunately, the House failed to support this amendment and it did not pass. Now, with only months to go before RECA expires in June of 2024, Congress must work to extend and strengthen the bill.

From 1945 to 1962, the United States government conducted hundreds of above-ground nuclear weapons tests on American soil. Uranium mining also increased during the 1940s-70s to develop America’s nuclear arsenal. As a result, countless individuals living near nuclear test sites, working in the uranium industry, and serving in the military were exposed to deadly radiation. Despite numerous studies linking radiation exposure to illness, the U.S. government did not communicate these risks to uranium workers, downwind civilians, and service members.

The amendment passed by the Senate would extend RECA by 19 years and expand coverage to downwinders and uranium miners that have been unjustly excluded, some of whom have waited nearly 80 years for recognition. So many have watched loved ones pass away while fighting to be included in RECA, and many are still desperately in need of this support.

The fight isn’t over yet, and we need you to keep calling on Congress to support extending and strengthening RECA. As budget bills move through the House and Senate early in the year, we need Appropriations committees to include language that would keep RECA in place for another nineteen years, and cover all of the communities that desperately need the support and compensation offered by RECA.

Take action today: thank your senator and urge your House representative to join the Senate and vote to strengthen recognition and support for nuclear weapons victims.
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