Kiran Obee
August 25, 2026

After years of advocacy by downwinders, uranium workers, atomic veterans, communities harmed by nuclear weapons production and radioactive waste, and their allies, Congress has another opportunity to provide recognition and compensation to some of the people still excluded from the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).

On August 17th, Guam Delegate James Moylan (R-GU) introduced H.R. 10115, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026.

Moylan is joined by co-leads Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM), Wesley Bell (D-MO), and Brittany Pettersen (D-CO). Original cosponsors are Reps. Kimberlyn King-Hinds (R-CNMI), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), Dina Titus (D-NV), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), and Steven Horsford (D-NV). 

The bill would expand downwinder coverage to all of Arizona, Nevada and Colorado, Montana and Guam, while extending the relevant exposure period. It would also add coverage for communities affected by Manhattan Project waste, including areas around Hanford in Washington; Rocky Flats and the Cotter Uranium Mill in Colorado; PORTS in Ohio; and additional communities in Missouri and Illinois.

Behind those places and provisions are the people who have spent decades trying to get the federal government to recognize what happened such as Robert Celestial, a retired Army sergeant from Guam and president of the Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors, who has spent decades fighting for recognition. Celestial was sent to Enewetak Atoll in 1977, where he helped move radioactive debris from islands used for U.S. nuclear testing to what became Runit Dome. Task & Purpose reports that many of his fellow cleanup veterans have since developed cancers and other chronic illnesses. “I have multiple issues too. By the grace of God, I’m still alive,” Celestial told the outlet.

H.R. 10115 would bring Guam into RECA’s downwinder coverage and extend eligibility to veterans involved in cleanup and response efforts at Enewetak, Palomares, Spain, and Thule, Greenland.

The bill goes much further. It would raise compensation to $150,000, cover documented out-of-pocket medical costs, add cancers and renal and thyroid diseases, accept affidavits as proof of eligibility, broaden survivor claims, and let previously successful claimants seek more. It would also extend the claims deadline to 2042, expand RESEP services, and let other radiation-exposed communities petition for inclusion. 

Introducing a bill is a long way from signing one into law. But H.R. 10115 addresses gaps that affected communities have spent years fighting to close, and it gives advocates something real to organize around: rallying constituents, winning bipartisan support in Congress, and making the public see who the nation’s nuclear legacy harmed—and why they’re owed recognition and compensation. 

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Author

  • Kiran Obee is an independent consultant based in Denver, Colorado, with over a decade of experience supporting foundations, nonprofits, and small businesses in their efforts to advance equity across sectors—from health and education to economic opportunity. She specializes in participatory evaluation and stakeholder engagement.

    Kiran holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver, with a dual emphasis in Local Government and Environmental Policy, Management, and Law. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from American University in Washington, DC.

    Prior to independent consulting, Kiran worked at a women-led consulting firm that focused on systems change and in the nonprofit sector with organizations working on issues ranging from domestic violence prevention to urban forestry. She is passionate about grassroots movements for social justice—and about raising her twin sons, who keep her on her toes.

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