S. 3853: Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act
Bill · 118th Congress (2023–2024). Passed Senate, 7 Mar 2024. Introduced 29 Feb 2024.
Official title: A bill to extend the period for filing claims under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act and to provide for compensation under such Act for claims relating to Manhattan Project waste, and to improve compensation for workers involved in uranium mining.
Vote results
- Senate, 7 Mar 2024: Bill Passed, 69 Yea, 30 Nay, 0 Present, 1 Not voting. The Senate’s roll call
- President: Not presented to the President.
How each member voted
Senate
Yea (69): Edward J. Markey (D-MA); Charles E. Schumer (D-NY); Ron Wyden (D-OR); Richard J. Durbin (D-IL); Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD); Jack Reed (D-RI); Bernard Sanders (I-VT); Sherrod Brown (D-OH); Mike Crapo (R-ID); Patty Murray (D-WA); Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Jerry Moran (R-KS); Debbie Stabenow (D-MI); Tammy Baldwin (D-WI); Maria Cantwell (D-WA); John Boozman (R-AR); Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); Marsha Blackburn (R-TN); Chris Van Hollen (D-MD); Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA); Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY); Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI); Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); Christopher Murphy (D-CT); Jon Tester (D-MT); Peter Welch (D-VT); Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Martin Heinrich (D-NM); Ben Ray Luján (D-NM); Jeff Merkley (D-OR); Gary C. Peters (D-MI); James E. Risch (R-ID); Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH); Mark R. Warner (D-VA); Michael F. Bennet (D-CO); Christopher A. Coons (D-DE); Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Marco Rubio (R-FL); Brian Schatz (D-HI); Tom Cotton (R-AR); Ted Cruz (R-TX); Steve Daines (R-MT); Tammy Duckworth (D-IL); Tim Kaine (D-VA); Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME); Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ); Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); Cory A. Booker (D-NJ); Mike Rounds (R-SD); Dan Sullivan (R-AK); Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV); Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH); Roger Marshall (R-KS); Jacky Rosen (D-NV); Tina Smith (D-MN); Mike Braun (R-IN); Josh Hawley (R-MO); Mark Kelly (D-AZ); Bill Hagerty (R-TN); John W. Hickenlooper (D-CO); Jon Ossoff (D-GA); Alex Padilla (D-CA); Raphael G. Warnock (D-GA); John Fetterman (D-PA); Eric Schmitt (R-MO); J.D. Vance (R-OH); Robert Menendez (D-NJ); Laphonza R. Butler (D-CA).
Nay (30): Chuck Grassley (R-IA); Thomas R. Carper (D-DE); Roger F. Wicker (R-MS); Susan M. Collins (R-ME); John Thune (R-SD); Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV); John Cornyn (R-TX); John Barrasso (R-WY); Bill Cassidy (R-LA); Joe Manchin, III (I-WV); John Hoeven (R-ND); Ron Johnson (R-WI); James Lankford (R-OK); Mike Lee (R-UT); Rand Paul (R-KY); Tim Scott (R-SC); Todd Young (R-IN); Kevin Cramer (R-ND); Deb Fischer (R-NE); Cynthia M. Lummis (R-WY); Markwayne Mullin (R-OK); Joni Ernst (R-IA); Thom Tillis (R-NC); Ted Budd (R-NC); John Kennedy (R-LA); Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS); Mitt Romney (R-UT); Rick Scott (R-FL); Tommy Tuberville (R-AL); Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
Not voting (1): Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL).
Not in office (5): Adam B. Schiff (D-CA); Andy Kim (D-NJ); Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); Ben Sasse (R-NE); George S. Helmy (D-NJ).
Summary
Main subject: Amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to add compensation for claims relating to Manhattan Project waste, change the eligibility and payment terms for atmospheric testing and uranium mining claims, and extend the filing period. Sec. 102, Sec. 204, Sec. 205, Sec. 207
Its core areas: Compensation for claims relating to Manhattan Project waste; Compensation for atmospheric nuclear testing claims; Compensation for uranium mining, milling, core drilling and ore transport workers; Filing period, resubmittal and additional payments under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program coverage for uranium workers; Grants and studies on radiation exposure.
Unexpected Items: 1 provision
These provisions fall outside the bill’s main subject or apply narrowly. This describes the text; it is not a judgment.
Funds a specific named project or event (1)
- Sec. 103: Cooperative agreement: Requires the Secretary of Energy to award a cooperative agreement by September 30, 2024 to an eligible association to support human and ecological health at the Amchitka, Alaska, Site. No dollar amount is stated.
What it does
- Sec. 102: Adds a claim under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act for people physically present for at least 2 years after January 1, 1949 in listed ZIP Codes in Missouri, Tennessee, Alaska and Kentucky who later contracted a specified disease, paying a living claimant the greater of $50,000 or documented out-of-pocket medical expenses.
- Sec. 204: Changes atmospheric testing claims by moving the end date from October 31, 1958 to November 6, 1962, adding physical presence periods for New Mexico and Guam, and setting the payment for leukemia and specified disease claims at $100,000.
- Sec. 205: Changes uranium mining claims by extending the employment period from December 31, 1971 to December 31, 1990, adding core drillers, adding renal cancer and chronic renal disease, and allowing combined work histories in two or more positions.
- Sec. 207: Extends the time for filing claims from 2 years to 5 years, allows a denied claimant to resubmit up to three times, and requires payment of the difference to claimants already compensated.
- Sec. 206: Requires the Attorney General to accept sworn affidavits from another person as evidence of employment history, physical presence in an affected area, and onsite participation in atmospheric tests, and to issue revised regulations within 180 days.
- Sec. 208: Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a grant program, run through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling, and authorizes $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2026.
Written automatically from the official text by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model. Written 2 Oct 2026 and published after the automatic checks, without a person reading it first. Every line names the section it came from.