{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-op-ed-dont-let-government-get-away-poisoning-americans/", "Hawley Op-Ed: Don\u2019t Let Government Get Away With Poisoning Americans", "2023-12-04", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "By U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) | Dec. 4, 2023 | Real Clear Politics\n\nThis year, Americans had the opportunity to revisit the origins of our nation\u2019s nuclear program with the blockbuster film \u201cOppenheimer.\u201d But there\u2019s one story line that didn\u2019t make the big screen: those Americans who are still paying the price.\n\nFor decades, the federal government poisoned an untold number of its citizens through our atomic program. It happened everywhere, impacting uranium mine workers in Texas, Native Americans living downwind from nuclear tests in the Mountain West, and communities exposed to Manhattan Project waste in Missouri. And that\u2019s just a small sample.\n\n[\u2026]\n\nNow, the law that delivers some justice and compensation to these victims is about to expire. Congress must include a reauthorization of this life-changing program as part of the annual defense bill. It\u2019s our chance to give justice to victims who have been silenced and forgotten for years.\n\n[\u2026]\n\nTens of thousands of American workers across the country helped to mine and process uranium and worked in facilities that built our atomic weapons, and they breathed in the toxic substances every day.\n\n[\u2026]\n\nIn 1990, Congress finally acknowledged the government\u2019s egregious neglect and passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to compensate victims who were sickened with cancer from nuclear tests.\n\n[\u2026]\n\nBut in just a few months, funding for the program will be cut off. This cannot be allowed to happen. Since its creation, RECA has helped tens of thousands of Americans and assisted those exposed to radiation rebuild and renew their lives. How can we turn our back on them?\n\nMany more communities still need access to this program before it runs out. In my home state of Missouri, mismanaged nuclear waste from the Manhattan Project era sat exposed for years and contaminated communities in the St. Louis region \u2013 and now these areas have elevated cancer rates. In multiple other states, \u201cdownwinders\u201d still need compensation.\n\n[\u2026]\n\nBack in July, Congress took the first step to getting this done when the Senate adopted, as part of the defense bill, my amendment with Sen. Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n of New Mexico to extend and strengthen the RECA program. I was proud to see that amendment pass with a bipartisan supermajority, reflecting the broad support among both parties for obtaining justice for victims. President Biden has since supported it as well.\n\nHouse and Senate leadership must not strip this life-changing program from the final defense bill. It would amount to a slap in the face to victims everywhere if our leaders in Congress decide to kneecap the Americans who suffered from these nuclear programs and instead ship billions and billions to defense contractors or foreign wars. There\u2019s no excuse for forgetting about the people we serve.\n\nWhen the government poisons its own people, it must make it right. We have no other choice.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:56:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-op-ed-dont-let-government-get-away-poisoning-americans/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9181082025170326, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}