US Senate OKs funding bill for New Mexicans impacted by Trinity Site

Lawmakers in the U.S. Senate passed a bill to pay reparations to New Mexicans impacted by the infamous Trinity Test in the Tularosa Basin where the world’s fist atomic bomb was exploded.

Since the Trinity Test in 1945, generations of residents in south-central New Mexico from villages like Carrizozo or Tularosa attributed myriad cancers and health problems to the lingering radiation in the area from the blast.

But they were left out of government programs to pay for the resulting medical bills. Many feared they were forgotten by history as recently as the 2023 Oscar-nominated film Oppenheimer that was about the test and man who led it, but made no mention of New Mexicans affected during the movie's 3-hour runtime.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was passed in 1990 to provide payments to Americans impacted by nuclear activities and tests, but only provided funds to New Mexicans impacted by uranium mining and communities around the Nevada Test Site in several other states.

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Known as “downwinders” communities in New Mexico around the Trinity Site advocated and lobbied for years to see RECA expanded to include them, and a bill to do so passed the U.S. Senate Thursday on a 69-30 vote. It now awaits approval from the Republican-led House of Representatives.

Both of New Mexico’s senators voted in favor of the measure, which was also supported by every Democrat in the chamber but one Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, and 20 Republicans.

If passed, the latest RECA bill cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) would extend the program by six more years, and expand its reparations to include those impacted by the Manhattan Project – the federal operation that led to the Trinity Test.

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Downwinders could receive $100,000 lump sums if they meet the qualifications and suffered from diseases included in the bill, which included any leukemia occurring after the age of 20 and at least two years after exposure.

The bill also listed cancers of the thyroid, breast, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, brain and several others. It also extended payments to include more uranium miners by amending the law to include those who worked in that industry up until 1990. The law as it stands only covers until 1971.

Lujan, who brought a New Mexico downwinder Tina Corodova with him as a guest for Thursday’s State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., said the bill would bring justice to those suffering the effects of American nuclear proliferation.

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“After decades of work and tireless advocacy, we are the closest we have ever been to providing justice and compensation for those who have suffered at the hands of our country’s national security,” Lujan said in a statement upon the Senate’s passage of the bill.

“Today’s bipartisan vote delivers a clear message to the generations of New Mexicans living with the lasting impacts of the Trinity Test that our country has a moral obligation to address this injustice and compensate families for their suffering.”

He urged the House of Representatives to follow the Senate’s actions and pass the bill onto President Joe Biden’s desk for signature. Biden signaled he would support the RECA expansion via a statement from the White House.

More: New Mexican downwinders could be compensated for radiation exposure via bill in Congress

“The President believes we have a solemn obligation to address toxic exposure, especially among those who have been placed in harm’s way by the government’s actions,” read the statement.

The RECA program was extended multiple times, most recently for two more years past a July 2022 sunset, meaning it expires this year in July without Congressional action. Last year, the Senate voted to add the expansion to the National Defense Authorization Act, but it was removed by the House before being passed.

Ahead of the vote Heinrich also urged Congress to pass the expansion and provide payments to New Mexicans.

More: New Mexicans demand reparations as Congress moves bill to support victims of nuke fallout

“It is long overdue for Congress to finally amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include Trinity Downwinders, all Americans who were downwind from nuclear tests, and all of the uranium workers who were exposed to radiation in service to our national defense,” Heinrich said during his speech.

Cordova, who founded the Tularosa Basin Downwinder Consortium and was a lead lobbyist for the legislation, said it had bipartisan support which should continue in House.

“Today I'm exceedingly grateful for the support that we've received and the US senators that saw to doing the right thing,” Cordova said. “We don't see a vote like this in the US Senate, ever. That should send a loud and clear message to the House that this is not a partisan issue and that the U.S. Senate knows what justice looks like."

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Bill recompensing New Mexico Trinity Site survivors passes US Senate