Passage of these bills would directly benefit our rural and tribal communities, workers, and their families:
- The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), due to expire in July 2022, provides compensation to individuals suffering from cancers and other diseases associated with radiation exposure who worked in uranium mining, milling, and ore transportation from 1942 to 1971, participated onsite in atmospheric nuclear weapons testing, or lived downwind of the Nevada Test Site. The following amendments and reforms are needed:
- Extend RECA through 2045;
- Expand eligibility for benefits to uranium core drillers, individuals working in the uranium industry from 1972 to 1990, and those living in additional areas determined to have been affected by atmospheric nuclear testing;
- Increase compensation that an individual may receive from $50,000 – $100,000 to $150,000;
- Modify proof of residency eligibility requirements so that they are consistent with Native American laws, customs, and traditions; and
- Create a grant program for university researchers to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining, milling, and ore transport on non-occupationally exposed individuals
Read the Congressional Research Service Report on RECA here: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R43956; and call the Arizona congressional delegation and ask them to introduce legislation reauthorizing and amending RECA to provide these critical public health protections and benefits.
- HB 612 – Downwinders Parity Act of 2021 – SUPPORT: Introduced by Rep. Greg Stanton, this bill would provide RECA benefits to downwinders and their families in Mohave County and adjoining areas in Nevada. Read Rep. Stanton’s statement on the need for this legislation here: https://stanton.house.gov/media/press-releases/stanton-testifies-first-house-hearing-downwinders-two-decades-time-running-out
- Arizona’s disabled coal miners and their families, including many tribal members, need your help to carry on in their struggles with the devastating and deadly lung diseases that come from breathing in coal mine dust. Call or write to Arizona’s congressional delegation and urge them to take action to ensure the long-term solvency of the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund by extending the Black Lung Excise Tax for another ten years and by closing the loophole that allows coal-mining companies to avoid paying the excise tax on exported coal. Read about the need for this legislation here: https://www.northcentralpa.com/life/2021-omnibus-spending-bill-includes-black-lung-disability-trust-extension/article_8e58a560-450e-11eb-a179-5f8caee524ca.html
- The prevalence and severity of Black Lung Disease is on the rise. Urge Arizona’s congressional delegation to reintroduce the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act. This proposed legislation would make it easier for coal miners to pursue their benefits claims. Read the United Mine Workers of America’s statement on the need for this legislation here: https://umwa.org/health-safety/the-black-lung-benefits-improvement-act/
- Ask Senators Sinema and Kelly to support the Relief for Survivors of Miners Act, S. 757, streamlining the process by which the families of miners who died from Black Lung Disease can claim death benefits. Read about S. 757 here: https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2021/3/warner-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-ease-burden-on-families-of-deceased-miners