U.S. Senator Mike Crapo Advocates for Expanded Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
U.S. Senator Mike Crapo has been a vocal advocate for expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to include individuals affected by past U.S. nuclear tests. In July 2023, Senator Crapo spoke on the Senate floor, emphasizing the need to compensate 'forgotten victims' of these tests, particularly those in areas like Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah, as well as certain counties in Arizona and Nevada. These regions, often referred to as 'downwinders,' experienced higher rates of cancer and illness due to radioactive particles dispersed into the atmosphere from tests conducted in New Mexico in 1945 and at the Nevada Test Site in the 1950s and 1962. In 2025, RECA was reauthorized under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which broadened its eligibility criteria. This reauthorization allows individuals diagnosed with specific cancers, who lived in Idaho for at least a year between January 1951 and November 1962, or all of July 1962, to potentially qualify for a $100,000 compensation payment. The Sandpoint Li... 
