House lawmakers left town Wednesday without extending the compensation fund under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act before a Friday deadline, as the lawmakers who want to greatly expand its coverage dig in against a simple extension.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., is pushing for a House vote on a bill from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that would expand the fund, which compensates those harmed by radiation from America’s development of nuclear weapons. Luján said that although the statutory deadline for RECA is Friday, people currently receiving benefits would still get them. But it would bar people who are currently eligible but haven’t applied to the program from applying after June 10, he said.
Luján floated the possibility of passing a short-term extension — one proposal would do so for six months — without the expansion language, buying advocates more time to secure votes. Another proposal would provide for a “clean” two-year extension.
