[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 703 Engrossed in House (EH)]
H. Res. 703
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
April 4, 2006.
Whereas April 26, 2006, marks the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear
disaster;
Whereas serious radiological, health, and socioeconomic consequences for the
populations of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, as well as for the
populations of other affected areas, have been identified since the
disaster;
Whereas the Chernobyl Forum, an initiative launched by the International Atomic
Energy Agency and supported by the World Health Organization, the United
Nations Development Program, and other United Nations agencies, as well
as by the governments of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, examined the
scientific evidence of the human health affects and the environmental
impact of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster;
Whereas the findings of the Chernobyl Forum, issued in September 2005,
significantly added to the understanding of the health consequences and
economic impact caused by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster;
Whereas the Chernobyl Forum found that approximately 5,000,000 people live in
areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia that were contaminated by
radioactivity;
Whereas the populations of the affected areas who were exposed as children have
experienced significant increases in thyroid cancer;
Whereas the lives and health of people in the affected areas continue to be
heavily burdened by the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster;
Whereas numerous charitable, humanitarian, and environmental organizations from
the United States and the international community are committed to
overcoming the extensive consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster;
Whereas the United States has sought to help the people of the affected areas
through various forms of assistance;
Whereas humanitarian assistance and public health research into the consequences
of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster will continue to be needed in the
coming decades when a large number of latent health effects are expected
to emerge;
Whereas the United States strongly supports improving nuclear safety in Ukraine;
Whereas, in 1997, the United States, the European Union, and Ukraine developed
the Shelter Implementation Plan for the purpose of protecting people and
the environment from the dangers of the large quantity of highly
radioactive material contained in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant;
Whereas as the United States is the largest single country donor to the
Chernobyl Shelter Fund, which was created with the purpose of funding
the Shelter Implementation Plan, having pledged a total of $203,000,000;
and
Whereas the most critical component of the Shelter Implementation Plan will be
the construction of a new shelter designed to better protect people and
the environment from the radioactive remains of the Chernobyl nuclear
power plant: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear
disaster and expresses sympathy for the ongoing effects of the disaster,
including adverse health consequences and deaths;
(2) calls upon national and international health organizations to
focus their research into the public health consequences of the
Chernobyl nuclear disaster into areas identified by the Chernobyl
Shelter Fund, so that the global community can benefit from the findings
of such research;
(3) supports continued United States assistance to the Chernobyl
Shelter Fund, the Shelter Implementation Plan, construction of a
facility to store spent nuclear fuel, and other efforts to mitigate the
consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster; and
(4) urges other countries and the European Union to continue to
provide assistance to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, the Shelter
Implementation Plan, construction of a facility to store spent nuclear
fuel, and other efforts to mitigate the consequences of the Chernobyl
nuclear disaster.
Attest:
Clerk.