ALBUQUERQUE – The Albuquerque City Council has issued a proclamation in support of extending and expanding the nation’s Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).
Albuquerque City Councilor for District 7 Tammy Fiebelkorn crafted the proclamation in support of extending the act which is scheduled to expire this year on June 7. Fiebelkorn highlighted the importance of extending compensation to cover New Mexicans, stating, "It has been nearly 80 years since the first nuclear bomb was detonated in New Mexico and since then over one thousand atomic tests have been conducted in the southwest of the U.S."
Fiebelkorn emphasized the need for continued compensation, urging, "We all need to let our U.S. legislators know that compensation is still needed."
The U.S. Congress has been allocating $50 billion per year for the past 33 years to compensate downwinders under the act. With RECA's expiration looming, there are two congressional bills, U.S. Senate Bill 385 and House Resolution 4426, that would extend and expand RECA. These bills aim to provide relief for survivors and, for the first time, include New Mexico’s "Downwinders."
Tina Cordova, cancer survivor and co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, expressed gratitude, saying, "We want to thank Councilor Fiebelkorn for her leadership and bringing forth this Proclamation to the Albuquerque City Council. Everyone in New Mexico is a Downwinder and many people in Albuquerque have been affected by New Mexico’s nuclear industry."
