FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (June 13, 2018 – Hagåtña) – Another step forward was achieved by the Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors’ (PARS) fight for justice and assistance for those exposed to radiation on Guam during nuclear weapons testing conducted by the U.S. government in the Marshall Islands. The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing at 10:00 am on June 27, 2018 in Washington D.C. for S.B. 197, Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments (RECA) of 2017, which would allow those who resided in Guam between 1945 and 1962 and who suffered from cancer or other listed radiation-related illness, to apply for compensation that would include free medical care and up to $150,000 from the remaining funds in the RECA Trust Fund.

Robert N. Celestial, president of PARS and longtime advocate for the inclusion of Guam in RECA, has been invited by the U.S. Senate Committee to testify on behalf of the people of Guam. He will be travelling to Washington D.C. to provide his expert testimony and many years of research.

Vice Speaker Therese Terlaje will also be attending the hearing and following up on lobbying that she participated in last October 2017 in furtherance of Resolution No. 39-34 (COR), passed unanimously by the 34th Guam Legislature in April 2017, which petitioned the U.S. Congress to pass legislation that would compensate those suffering from cancer and health issues due to radiation exposure from nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific.

“Guam has been united in this effort for many, many years through the leadership of the Pacific Association of Radiation Survivors (PARS), Mr. Robert N. Celestial, the late Dr. Chris Perez, the late Senator Angel Santos, former Speakers Ben Pangelinan, Mark Forbes, Judith Won Pat, Speaker BJ Cruz, and many others. Justice is long overdue,” stated Vice Speaker Terlaje.

Terlaje further stated, “Free medical care and compassionate payments of $150,000 will certainly help cancer patients on Guam. Mr. Robert Celestial and the people of Guam have been working for years to educate lawmakers and ensure justice and financial redress for Guam, as has been given to other downwind populations who have endured the environmental and health impacts from radiation. A Senate hearing on whether to include Guam is an historic first. ”

“I want members of Congress to recognize that this is a very important issue that warrants justice for Guam’s people and that Guam’s leaders are in full support” stated Terlaje.

For more information, please call the Office of Vice Speaker Therese M. Terlaje at (671) 472-3586.