Advocates call on Sens. Lee, Curtis, to revive payments to downwinders in ‘big, beautiful' bill

Yahoo

a day ago

Steve Erickson, an advocate for downwinders, speaks to reporters about a possible RECA expansion in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Kyle Dunphey/Utah News Dispatch)
It's been one year since Congress allowed the program offering payments to downwinders to expire. Now, advocates are hoping the Senate will revive the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, as part of the 'big, beautiful' bill.
That includes Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who told reporters on Tuesday he's 'hoping something can get done.'
RECA had been in place since 1990, offering payments to uranium workers and downwinders, people who contracted cancer from above-ground nuclear tests. For years it was criticized for being too narrow — despite studies suggesting the entire West was blanketed by dangerous levels of radiation during nuclear tests, downwinders in just 10 counties in Utah, as well as a handful of counties in Nevada and Arizona, were covered.
And since the program expired last June, Congress has been unable to bring RECA back, stymied by spending concerns. Although the Senate passed a bill sponsored by Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley that would greatly expand the program, it hasn't been considered in the House.
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During a press conference in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, advocates called on Utah Republican Sens. John Curtis and Mike Lee to get behind an amendment to Congress' budget bill similar to what Hawley has proposed.
'There's a real possibility that a RECA reauthorization and expansion could be included in H.R.1,' said Steve Erickson, a longtime advocate for downwinders. 'But this will need the support of Utah's congressional delegation, especially the full-throated support from Senator Lee and Senator Curtis. Without their support, the prospects for RECA are much diminished.'
Neither Curtis or Lee's offices responded to a request for comment.
Dozens of Utah lawmakers call on Congress to resume payments to downwinders
When asked about RECA during his monthly PBS news conference on Tuesday, Cox said he's hopeful Congress will find a way to bring the program back during budget reconciliation. Cox, along with a coalition of 41 Utah lawmakers, have previously supported efforts to expand the program, specifically Hawley's bill.
Hawley's bill would expand the program to cover all of Utah and a handful of other Western states that weren't previously included in RECA, while extending coverage to communities around St. Louis and territories in the Pacific that were impacted by nuclear weapons testing development.
'We'll continue to express support for that,' Cox said on Tuesday. 'The repercussions of that above-ground nuclear testing in Utah are very long lasting and many of us had family members that have been impacted. So I think it's still important. Utah is not alone but Utah was significantly impacted.'
However, the governor noted there haven't been any new developments in his talks with the congressional delegation.
People who submitted their claims before the deadline last summer can still receive payments — but there's no option for downwinders who were just recently diagnosed with cancer, or didn't know about the program.
'(We) continue to receive emails and phone calls from affected community members here in Utah who have received cancer diagnosis, asking where to apply and what to do,' said Carmen Valdez, a senior policy associate for the Health Environment Alliance of Utah. 'It's really discouraging to say that the program is expired and they can no longer apply, but they can contact their delegation about it.'
RECA has always had bipartisan support. Originally sponsored by late Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, both Democrats and Republicans have since advocated for its expansion. That includes Sens. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M. and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, who have lobbied with Hawley to expand the program.
'This is not a partisan play by any means,' said Erickson.
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