March 5, 2024

Activist who has fought for RECA expansion chosen as Luján’s guest for the State of the Union address

Tina Cordova, who developed cancer as a result of radiation exposure and has fought for expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, will attend the State of the Union address Thursday as the guest of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a New Mexico Democrat. Cordova is the co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium. She […]

Hannah Grover

Tina Cordova, who developed cancer as a result of radiation exposure and has fought for expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, will attend the State of the Union address Thursday as the guest of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a New Mexico Democrat.

Cordova is the co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when she was 39 years old.

Many of her family and community members have developed cancer or other radiation-related health conditions due to nuclear weapons testing in the Tularosa Basin of New Mexico.

Lawmakers and other government officials choose their guests for the State of the Union address as a way to put a human face to an issue that they are championing. For instance, First Lady Jill Biden invited a Texas resident who gained attention after she sued the state for the right to terminate a non-viable pregnancy. U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, a New Mexico Democrat, announced last week that a teacher from Laguna Pueblo who could benefit from the Parity for Tribal Educators Act, a bill he is sponsoring, will be his guest during the State of the Union address.

Luján has championed expanding RECA since 2008 when he was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. That expansion would include New Mexico downwinders as well as people who worked in mining and milling of uranium after 1971 who are not currently eligible for that compensation if they develop a health condition as a result of their past exposure.

He introduced legislation last year along with Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act attempting to expand who is eligible for RECA compensation to include impacted people in both New Mexico and Missouri. While that legislation passed the Senate, it was removed from the NDAA after failing to gain support from Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives.

However, Luján said in a press release that Senate leaders Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, and Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, have committed to holding another vote on expanding RECA. That vote is expected to come this week.

“I am hopeful that this will pass with a bipartisan coalition of Senators just as it did last year. I’m honored that Tina will join me for President Biden’s State of the Union address and as the Senate prepares to once again vote on RECA,” Luján said. “Her leadership and advocacy have been instrumental in moving RECA forward, and I am glad to have her in this fight for justice.”

Meanwhile, Hawley has said he will attach an amendment to expand RECA to all items on the Senate floor. In addition to expanding compensation to people in New Mexico and Missouri, the expansion would also include people in Idaho, Montana, Guam, Colorado, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alaska who were exposed to radiation due to actions taken by the federal government, such as nuclear weapon testing or uranium processing.

President Joe Biden will deliver the State of the Union address at 7 p.m. Thursday. It will be streamed on YouTube, X and Facebook and online at WH.gov/sotu.