S. 243 · 119th Congress
Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Not yet voted on. This bill is still a proposal: it hasn't reached a floor vote, and its text can change in committee or on the floor before any vote.
R
HawleySponsor8 cosponsors · 6 D, 2 R
5 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill reauthorizes and expands programs that compensate individuals who were exposed to radiation during certain nuclear testing or uranium mining and who subsequently developed medical conditions, including cancers.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Jan 24, 2025
This bill reauthorizes and expands programs that compensate individuals who were exposed to radiation during certain nuclear testing or uranium mining and who subsequently developed medical conditions, including cancers.
Under current law, compensation is payable to individuals based on requirements including the (1) dates when exposure occurred, (2) duration of exposure, (3) type of exposure, and (4) resulting medical condition.
Among other changes to this program, the bill (1) extends the eligible dates when qualifying atmospheric exposure occurred, (2) authorizes compensation to individuals with combined work histories in uranium mining, (3) adds core drilling as an eligible mining occupation, and (4) increases the amount of compensation awarded to qualifying individuals.
The bill also expands this program to compensate individuals located in specified areas in Alaska, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee associated with waste from the Manhattan Project and who subsequently developed specified types of cancer.
The bill extends until five years after this bill's enactment the statute of limitations for the filing of claims.
The bill also expands eligibility under an existing occupational illness compensation program for former Department of Energy employees.
The bill also establishes a grant program for institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among individuals without occupational exposure.
The bill directs the Government Accountability Office to study and report to Congress on the unmet medical benefits coverage for individuals who were exposed to radiation in atmospheric nuclear tests conducted by the federal government.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act
Latest action (Jan 24, 2025): Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy area: Labor and Employment · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Jan 24, 2025
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.