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Meng Legislation to Help Veterans Exposed to Radiation Enacted into Law

August 10, 2022

Congresswoman’s measure will ensure radiation-exposed veterans who cleaned up nuclear testing sites in the Marshall Islands receive health benefits; Legislation signed by President Biden as part of the Honoring Our Pact Act, a bill Meng helped pass that seeks to assist veterans exposed to toxic substances, an issue pushed by Queens veterans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Biden signed the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (Honoring Our PACT Act), a key veterans health bill that includes U.S. Rep. Grace Meng's (D-NY) 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 is a sweeping bill that Meng helped pass in the House which 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.
"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."
"The Queens County Council VFW applauds the signing of the Honoring our PACT Act," said Ryan Graham, Legislative Committee of the Queens County Council VFW. "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. While taking care of those currently serving is of great importance, equally providing Veterans the VA services and compensation for service-related issues is just as important."
"I wish to express my appreciation to Congresswoman Meng, our congressional leaders and all the veteran service organizations and advocates who worked to see the Honoring our PACT Act get signed into law," said Joe Bello, Chair of the Metropolitan NYC Veterans Community Engagement Board. "I'm especially grateful for all of Congresswoman Meng's work on the Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act, which she has advocated on for many years. Her bill's inclusion into the Honoring our PACT Act will make sure that veterans who worked on toxic exposure cleanups on the Marshall Islands have not been forgotten; and will give them and their families the benefits and services they are so rightly entitled to."
The Congresswoman'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.