> Colloquy Regarding Men's Health

Colloquy
Between Senators Crapo and Specter
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
October 25, 2005

Mr. CRAPO: Mr. President, I rise today to discuss with the distinguished Subcommittee Chairman the need to amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).

Mr. SPECTER: I yield to the Senator.

Mr. CRAPO: As my colleagues are aware, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a report on April 28 of this year calling on Congress to establish new scientific criteria for decisions about awarding federal compensation to people who have developed specific diseases, including certain cancers, as a result of exposure to radioactive fallout from U.S. nuclear weapons tests. I wholeheartedly agree with them.

When Congress passed RECA 15 years ago, an important first step was taken to provide compassionate assistance to those directly affected by nuclear testing conducted by the United States. However, it soon became clear that a legislative remedy which was bound by geographic restrictions, and not scientific evidence, was not sufficient to fully rectify the problem at hand. This was confirmed in 1999, when Senator Hatch introduced his amendments to expand RECA and include affected counties in Arizona.

Today, the NAS has determined that residents in counties and states far from the original Nevada Test Site were not only exposed to radiation, but may even have been exposed to much higher levels than those in currently eligible areas. In fact, there are areas in my native Idaho that have demonstrably higher incidences of thyroid dosage of radiation than any other county currently covered by RECA. It seems unconscionable to me that people living in these areas are not currently eligible for compensation.

Those affected are not asking for special treatment, they are simply asking for fairness. As R. Julian Preston, Director of the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Carcinogenesis Division stated, "To be equitable, any compensation program needs to be based on scientific criteria and similar cases must be treated alike. The current geographic limitations are not based on the latest science."

To rectify this inequity, I think it is of utmost importance that Congress take up my legislation, S. 998 to include the State of Idaho as an affected area under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

Additionally, it is incumbent upon Congress to address the long-term challenges faced by the RECA program. The NAS report makes several specific recommendations, chief among them that Congress should establish a new process for reviewing individual claims, based on probability of causation, or "assigned share," a method which is used in the courts and other radiation compensation programs. It also recommends that the RECA program be expanded to include workers involved in uranium milling and ore transportation. I urge you to join me in implementing these suggestions of the NAS into legislation.

Mr. SPECTER: I appreciate the Senator's interest in this issue and recognize that he has legislation pending in Congress to address the needs of affected Idahoans. I say to my friend and colleague that I will work with him to identify necessary improvements and to respond to finding contained in the NAS report. I also urge the Administration to work diligently to help those still in need.

Mr. CRAPO: I thank the distinguished Chairman and yield the floor.