Call for action on a problem that is long overdue a solution…
Though Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to cover personnel that participated in atomic testing from 1944 – 1958, it does not cover those who cleaned up the radioactive debris. With an approximated 35 percent rate of cancer among these individuals, families have lost many of these Atomic Veterans, and those who survive battle health problems every day. The New York Times recently published a Retro Report detailing the experience and hardships of our nation’s Atomic Veterans. This report can be found here.
Congressman Mark Takai introduced The Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act last year, a bill that would provide these benefits to surviving Atomic Veterans, and to the families of those that gave their lives. The bill now has 86 bipartisan cosponsors.