Tonight U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) delivered remarks on the Senate floor ahead of an expected votes on additional aid to Ukraine. Senator Hawley blasted Senate Leadership for shoveling billions of dollars to foreign wars while ignoring Americans who have been poisoned by the federal government through its atomic program.
"We have enough money to make hundreds of millions of dollars of our taxpayer funds available to the private sector in Ukraine [...] We've got money without end [...] I have listened to colleague after colleague of mine, come to this floor, and stand where I am now, and say, 'it's so important that we spend this money on these overseas wars. We must spend the money.'" said Senator Hawley.
He continued, "These same people turn to Missourians and say 'you're not worth a dime.' They say, 'you can't have a penny.' They turn to the residents of Kentucky, of Tennessee, and Alaska, and New Mexico, and Arizona, and Utah, and Texas, and they say, 'we don't care that you were poisoned, we don't have a dime for you. We have unlimited money for Ukraine, we're going to rebuild the borders of Ukraine, [...] but we don't have anything for you.'"
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Background
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) program—which is set to expire in a matter of months—compensates victims of nuclear radiation from the Manhattan Project. Last week, Senator Hawley filed a RECA amendment to the Senate Supplemental.
Following its passage in the Senate in July, RECA reauthorization was stripped from the NDAA by congressional leadership. Senator Hawley has committed to doing whatever it takes to reauthorize this vital legislation and bring justice to victims of government-caused nuclear radiation.