Overview

• The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was reinstated and expanded in the multitrillion-dollar “Big, Beautiful Bill” after overcoming House roadblocks by attaching it to the omnibus
• The measure addresses contamination hotspots from Coldwater Creek in Missouri to Western nuclear test sites, delivering federal aid to exposed military, civilian and Navajo Nation communities
• Senator Josh Hawley’s strategic inclusion of RECA in President Trump’s signature legislation secured final approval at a bipartisan celebration held in cancer-impacted St. Cin Park, St. Louis
• Advocates warn that strict zip-code boundaries and cumbersome documentation requirements still block many survivors from accessing compensation, prompting calls for further reform
• Democratic and Republican critics denounce the omnibus’s Medicaid work requirements and expansive tax cuts as threats to social safety net programs