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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