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Committee backs memorial urging Congress to expand radiation-exposure compensation
Summary
The House Health & Human Services subcommittee voted to give House Memorial 15 a ‘do pass’ recommendation. The memorial asks Congress to expand the Federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to cover more New Mexicans affected by uranium mining and related activities.
House Memorial 15, a measure urging the U.S. Congress to expand compensation under the Federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, received a do-pass recommendation from the House Health & Human Services subcommittee.
Representative Hernandez, sponsor of the memorial, told the subcommittee that the measure “raises awareness of the challenges experienced by people exposed to radiation” and asks federal lawmakers to broaden eligibility and compensation. Hernandez said the memorial has been carried in the Legislature since the 1990s and named several cosponsors.
The memorial’s supporters described the local history behind the request: New Mexico’s uranium mining and nuclear-development activity during and after World War II, the presence of abandoned mines and mill sites on the Navajo Nation, and continuing health concerns among miners, mill workers and nearby residents. Dr. Perry Charlie, who identified himself as a Navajo citizen and scientist, described long-term environmental and health impacts on the reservation and nearby communities and said some contaminated sites remain under U.S. Department of Energy stewardship.
Camila Feibelman, director of the Sierra Club’s Rio Grande Chapter, spoke in support and said the memorial “calls on us to take responsibility for the harms that have been done.” Committee members acknowledged the item and invited questions. Representative Eleanor Chavez moved a do-pass recommendation; Representative Ferrari seconded. With no opposition voiced on the record, the chair announced the item carried as a do-pass.
Why it matters: supporters said the memorial would press Congress to address long‑standing harms associated with uranium extraction and processing, including health care and cleanup of low‑level radioactive waste.
The subcommittee recorded no roll-call vote on the record for the memorial; the sponsor and several witnesses said the measure will be used to continue federal advocacy on the issue.
