The U.S. Senate is still drafting its version of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill.” A vote is expected for next week. Tucked away in that proposed budget is a measure to renew compensation for those who had been exposed to radiation from uranium mining and nuclear weapons’ testing.
If finalized, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, known as RECA, would now sunset by the end of 2028. It also expands eligibility for claims from the Trinity Test site in New Mexico — where the first atomic bomb was detonated — and to more uranium miners.
Originally, RECA only compensated uranium miners up until 1972. Now, it could cover workers through 1990. The Navajo Nation has been lobbying to reinstate RECA since it expired last June.
At least 5,300 claimants — known as "downwinders" — from 24 tribes benefited from RECA, with many of them living across the Southwest. In all, more than $2.6 billion has been disbursed by the U.S. Department of Justice to some 41,000 recipients nationwide.
Maggie Billiman is Navajo. She has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was recently diagnosed with liver and kidney disease. Billiman and four family members suffer from illnesses they say stem from radiation exposure on the reservation in Sawmill, Arizona.
While downwinders like herself are hopeful about RECA possibly returning, they’re also concerned that Republican lawmakers are considering huge cuts to health services — both in and out of Indian Country.
“I’m in just so much pain all the time,” said Billiman. “This 'Big, Beautiful Bill' is just something else. You get help from the RECA compensation, right, and then take Medicaid and Medicare? It just doesn’t make any sense.”
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The House Natural Resources Committee met to review President Donald Trump’s funding proposal for the Interior Department, but Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva took that opportunity to talk about Las Playas Intaglio. -
Lithium is a key metal for electric vehicle batteries and there is a global push to find new sources of it. There is currently only one lithium mine in operation in the United States, but that is about to change — and drastically. -
A mining company is considering digging for copper on grazing land near the chapter house of the Coppermine community on the western Navajo Nation. -
The accident occurred about a half mile east of Highway 160 and state Route 98 near Shonto in Navajo County. This is the first reported incident since hauling along the 300-mile interstate route began nearly two years ago. -
A couple hundred ballots were cast by locals to decide a fitting moniker through a recent online vote. Al Ha’icu Ga:gdam — meaning Little Seeker — and Little Dot, or Al Doṣ, were among their choices.
