FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Hagåtña, Guam – December 9, 2021) – A huge milestone in the decades-long fight for justice for Guam radiation survivors took place this week in the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 5338, or the “Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2021,” has been moved to the House floor for voting.
Speaker Therese Terlaje stated, “Guam is another step closer to receiving just compensation for radiation exposure as a result of nuclear fallout during atmospheric testing in the Marshall Islands. Many in our community have been waiting decades for this recognition and compensation, some passing away before they could see this mark-up. I would like to congratulate and commend Robert Celestial and the Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors for their leadership, tireless efforts and advocacy which have ensured Guam is not forgotten in these RECA Amendments.”
On Thursday, December 9, 2021, while island residents were asleep in Guam, the U.S. House Committee on Judiciary held a mark-up meeting on H.R. 5338 to decide if it should be moved out of committee. In this mark-up meeting, Chairperson Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10), Vice Chairperson Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4), Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-OH-4), and the remaining 41 committee members reviewed the bill, made one amendment to it to include more compensable cancers for uranium miners, and voted to report bill H.R. 5338, as amended, favorably to the House. The motion to report the amended bill favorably to the House received 25 yes and 8 no votes.
In preparation for the committee’s mark-up meeting, Speaker Terlaje submitted a letter and packet in support of H.R. 5338. In her letter sent to the committee’s Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, and Ranking Member, Speaker Terlaje stated her support for the passage of H.R. 5338, as introduced and thanked the committee for their swift action on the bill, saying that it “demonstrates real progress for this matter.”
The submitted packet included the Adopted version of Resolution 178-36 (LS), which supports the passage of H.R. 5338 and was co-sponsored and passed by all Senators in the 36th Guam Legislature on Monday, December 6, 2021; a copy of the transcription from the public hearing on Resolution 178-36 (LS) held on Wednesday, November 3, 2021; and over 45 testimonies submitted by members of the Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors and the public.
You can watch the US House Committee on Judiciary mark-up discussion for H.R. 5388 here.
You can access the packet Speaker Terlaje sent to the US House Committee on Judiciary here.