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S 2825 117th Congress Senate Labor and Employment

Downwinders Act

Introduced: September 23, 2021 Introduced by: Lee, Mike Republican · Utah See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Sep 23, 2021
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Sep 23, 2021
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Downwinders Act

This bill expands eligibility for and extends a program that compensates individuals who were exposed to radiation from atmospheric nuclear testing and subsequently developed specified cancers.

Under current law, the program compensates, among others, individuals who were present in a designated geographic area during a period of nuclear testing. The bill expands that area to include all of Utah and specified counties in New Mexico. In addition, individuals may submit claims for compensation for 10 years following this bill's enactment (currently, the program terminates on July 10, 2022).

To support the program, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration must auction 100 megahertz of electromagnetic spectrum assigned or allocated to the federal government with a portion of the proceeds to be deposited into the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund in the Treasury. The bill extends this trust fund for 10 years following the bill's enactment.

In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services must study which counties in Nevada and New Mexico were affected by radiation fallout from open air nuclear testing.

What's happening now September 23, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1