Western Governors support the bipartisan Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2019. The outreach of Oct. 11, 2019 to the House and Senate, signed by WGA Chair North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Vice Chair Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, noted that the United States conducted over 1,000 nuclear weapons tests from 1945 to 1992. The vast majority of the tests were in western states or the Pacific islands, as was much of the mining and milling that provided the feedstock for these tests. Congress subsequently passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to compensate those who contracted cancers and other diseases following radiation exposure to these tests. The Governors support the RECA Amendments of 2019's recognition of broader populations impacted, the expanded definition of “affected area” for downwind states, and the extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund for 19 years. Read the House Letter, Read the Senate Letter