Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
Tina Cordova is a cancer survivor and founder of a group of New Mexico downwinders. She talked about the wave of momentum for expanding the compensation program that has bee building since "Oppenheimer," a film about the development of the first atomic bomb, open last year.
Cordova said, “You know, we are ground zero. We’re where it all started. The origins of the whole nuclear program are in New Mexico, and we were the first people exposed to radiation as a result of an atomic bomb and to be left out for 79 years isjust truly unacceptable.”
Cordova has lost many family members and friends to cancer over the years. Thursday marked the eleventh anniversary of her father’s death. She said she was thankful to be in Washington to celebrate the vote. She added that “People have been waiting for justice for far too long, and it’s just simply time to do the right thing.”
The vote was a rare up-or-down roll call on standalone legislation because Congress is busy trying to fund the government. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that he would send the bill to the Senate floor last week amid negotiations on the spending package.
Hawley would not say if he had threatened to hold up the spending bill over his legislation. It was included in a massive defense bill last year but stripped out at the last minute. He said he had pledged to use “every tool at his disposal” to get the bill passed.
Persuading the GOP-led House to take up and pass the legislation might be more difficult. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., is among those pushing for the new bill.
In St. Louis, nuclear waste stored near Lambert Airport leaked into Coldwater Creek in the 1960s. Many people who live near the meandering creek believe the contamination is responsible for cancers and other illnesses. However, experts say connecting radiation exposure to illness is complicated. Cancer concerns also have been raised by people in nearby St. Charles County, Missouri. Uranium was processed there and a large quarry became contaminated, resulting in a Superfund cleanup.
In 2022, a St. Louis County grade school was closed amid worries that radioactive contamination from Coldwater Creek got onto the playground and inside the building. The Army Corps of Engineers announced this week that it is investigating a few homes near the creek after high radiation levels were found in their backyards.
After the report by AP and the other news agencies last year, Hawley introduced an amendment to the annual defense bill that would have extended the law beyond its original expiration date. It also would have provided health care coverage and compensation to so-called "downwinders" exposed to radiation during weapons testing in several new regions. People in Missouri who were exposed to the nuclear waste would also be covered. However, it was removed during negotiations with the House.
Advocates for the bill who traveled to Washington for the vote said it represents hope for them and their families. They have been burdened with high medical costs.
Christen Commuso works for the advocacy group Missouri Coalition for the Environment. She said she has dealt with many health issues, including thyroid cancer, and has had to at times ration her care because it is so costly.
Commuso said, “It’s not about putting money in my pocket. It’s about providing me the ability to get the care that I deserve and need.”