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House veterans panel spotlights radiation‑exposed veterans, presses for presumptive coverage bills
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Summary
Members urged Congress to ease benefits access for atomic and test‑site veterans whose records were classified or lost, backing bills (PRESUME/PROTECT) to create presumptions of exposure for service at sites such as the Nevada Test and Training Range and Area 51.
Representative Titus said many atomic veterans and DOD employees who worked at classified sites have been denied benefits because records were erased or classified and ‘‘they can't even find evidence that they were there, but they were there.’’ She urged the PRESUME Act to remove the burden of proving radiation dose for presumptive disease claims.
Representative Susie Lee (Nev.) described veterans stationed at the Nevada Test and Training Range from 1972 to 2005 who she said were ‘‘denied benefits that they rightfully earned’’ and introduced the PROTECT Act to establish a presumption of radiation or toxic exposure for that period. Lee told the committee the bill would simplify the claims process and ‘‘offer potentially life‑saving medical treatment and financial compensation.’’
Members pressed VA and House leaders for field hearings in Nevada and Hawaii to examine specific exposure sites and related contamination, including Red Hill in Hawaii. Ranking Member Takano urged rapid use of discretionary procedures under existing law where possible and asked the secretary to expedite relief for affected veterans.
The discussion did not produce formal committee action at this hearing; members requested follow‑up oversight and signaled intentions to seek inclusion of related language during the NDAA and other legislative vehicles. The committee also discussed the difficulty of reconstructing records after fires and classification, and several members emphasized working with veterans service organizations who have endorsed presumptive coverage bills.
