Hawley bill to compensate victims of nuclear projects clears Senate

A measure to reauthorize and expand compensation to Americans exposed to radiation by nuclear projects owned and operated by the federal government passed in a stand-alone floor vote in the Senate, with a number of Republicans and Democrats voting to move the measure across the chamber.

The measure’s passage in the Senate, in a 69-30 vote, is a win for nuclear contamination victims, who have relied on the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act for remediation of nuclear exposure from testing sites used during World War II and the Cold War. The law’s funding is set to expire in June, and the bill would extend the authorization through fiscal 2026, along with expanding the benefits to more states.