Photo Courtesy of Rep. Meng
“We must take care of all our nation’s veterans, and that includes all who have cleaned-up nuclear testing sites and those exposed to hazardous materials,” Rep. Meng said.
By Forum Staff
President Joe Biden recently signed the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (Honoring Our PACT Act), a veterans health bill that includes U.S. Rep. Grace Meng’s (D-Flushing) legislation to provide health care benefits for “Atomic Veterans” who were exposed to harmful radiation when they cleaned up nuclear testing sites during the late 1970s.
Meng’s measure, entitled the Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act, will allow veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll on the Marshall Islands to receive the same health care and benefits given to other veterans who were involved in active nuclear tests. From 1946 to 1958, the U.S. military conducted nuclear tests on the islands, but the thousands of servicemembers who cleaned up the area were never made eligible to receive health benefits.
The Honoring Our PACT Act expands healthcare to approximately 3.5 million veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their service, including smoke from burn pits and other airborne hazards. It creates presumptions for 23 respiratory illnesses and cancers, such that they are assumed to have been caused by toxic substances. It is an issue that many Queens veterans have advocated for with Meng ever since she was first sworn into Congress.
Meng’s measure is named after the late Hawaii Congressman Mark Takai, a veteran of the U.S. Army and Hawaii Army National Guard who passed away in 2016, and was the original sponsor of the bill in the House of Representatives. Meng first introduced it in 2017.
The veterans who participated in the Marshall Islands cleanup have suffered from high rates of cancers due to their exposure to radiation and nuclear waste but have been unable to receive the same treatments and service-related disability presumptions that other “radiation-exposed veterans” receive. Current law has only covered those who participated in active nuclear tests, not those who participated in the cleanup.
“The enactment of my legislation will finally provide the brave veterans who cleaned up Enewetak Atoll with the health care they need and deserve,” said Meng. “It is way overdue and should not have taken decades to correct this injustice. We must take care of all our nation’s veterans, and that includes all who have cleaned-up nuclear testing sites and those exposed to hazardous materials. As I’ve said, we have a moral obligation to ensure needed care is delivered to our toxic-exposed veterans, and the Honoring our PACT Act will make sure that impacted veterans receive the assistance they require. I was honored to help pass it in Congress, and I thank President Biden for making it the law of the land. I also thank all the Queens veterans who raised the issue of burn pits with me over the years and commend them for keeping up the fight.”
Ryan Graham, legislative committee of the Queens County Council VFW, added, “Assisting those that participated in nuclear cleanup and radiation exposure, as well as those exposed to burn pits during the most recent conflicts during the Global War on Terror, is not only sensible but the responsibility we hold for those that served.”
