Luján Joins President Biden at White House to Sign Two-Year RECA Extension

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined President Joe Biden at the White House to sign a two-year extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). Without the extension, which cleared both chambers of Congress in May, the RECA program was scheduled to sunset in July. 

ICYMI – Luján in CNN Opinion: Families suffered from America’s nuclear testing. They still need help.

For over a decade, Senator Luján has championed efforts to strengthen and expand RECA to cover New Mexico Downwinders. As a member of the House, Luján introduced the legislation in each session of Congress since first elected in 2008. Luján also secured a Congressional apology in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Acts of Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021. Last year, Luján introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen RECA alongside U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and members of the New Mexico delegation.

“I was honored to join President Biden at the White House to sign a two-year extension of the RECA program. Since being sworn in as Senator, it has been a top priority to ensure that this critical program does not expire. With the President’s signature, we avoided that injustice,” said Luján. “But this fight is not over. The federal government must do right by all Americans whose lives were impacted by radiation exposure in the national defense effort, and I will continue working to expand this program to include all affected downwinders and post-1971 uranium mine workers. A strengthened RECA program would deliver long-overdue justice for families in New Mexico and across the nation who know the pain and sorrow caused by radiation exposure.”

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