Lummis Convenes Working Group to Advance Radiation Exposure Compensation Act

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) convened a working group Tuesday to discuss the next steps for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), legislation to provide healthcare and compensation to aging Wyoming uranium miners who were exposed to toxic radiation. A bipartisan group of senators and representatives joined Lummis to discuss RECA reauthorization, and their priorities to ensure constituents negatively impacted by uranium mining receive the care and compensation they have earned.

Lummis said Wyoming uranium miners heroically helped our country win the Cold War, but sadly, due to radiation exposure, are facing healthcare struggles associated with their time in the mines. Lummis said she is committed to finding a responsible solution to RECA reauthorization that helps compensate miners without bankrupting our country in the process. Thousands of former miners, including those in Fremont, Crook, Johnson, Sweetwater and Converse counties are eligible for payment under RECA. Since the 1950s, a quarter billion pounds of uranium has been mined in Wyoming. RECA was scheduled to sunset in 2022, until a two-year extension was passed in June 2022. Now, the program sunsets on June 7, 2024 leaving many miners in need of more long-term care in limbo.