Supporting the goals and ideals of a national day of remembrance on October 30, 2009, for American nuclear weapons program workers and uranium miners, millers, and haulers.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 790) supporting the goals and ideals of a national day of remembrance on October 30, 2009, for American nuclear weapons program workers and uranium miners, millers, and haulers, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which they may revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous materials.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am pleased to present House Resolution 790 for consideration. This legislation expresses our support for the goals and ideals of a national day of remembrance on October 30, 2009, in honor of America's nuclear weapons program workers and uranium miners, millers and haulers.

House Resolution 790 was introduced by my friend and colleague, Representative Shelley Berkley of Nevada, on October 1, 2009, and it enjoys the support of over 50 Members of Congress. In addition, the United States Senate unanimously approved a companion measure to this legislation, Senate Resolution 151, on May 20, 2009.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 790 seeks to honor the hundreds of thousands of uranium and nuclear weapons workers who have served our Nation at great personal sacrifice since World War II and during the height of the Cold War. Regrettably, many of these dedicated workers developed disabling and fatal illnesses, including cancer and lung disease, as a result of their workplace exposure to beryllium, ionizing radiation and other hazards associated with the development and testing of nuclear weapons.

As noted in 2007 by Denver's Rocky Mountain News, which published a report on the human costs associated with the domestic production and development of nuclear weapons, nearly 37,000 Americans have suffered from serious illness as a result of their exposure to radiation and toxic chemicals during their employment at above-ground nuclear weapons test sites and underground uranium mines. The same publication additionally reported that at least 4,000 of these nearly 37,000 individuals have died as a result of illnesses associated with their work.

Moreover, it's important to note that these statistics were only based on government figures, tracking those individuals that have been approved for compensation. As additionally noted by the Rocky Mountain News, many other nuclear weapons and uranium workers may have been affected, though they have yet to apply for compensation or have had their claims denied due to the difficulty in establishing a causal connection between their illness and their work.

Mr. Speaker, these dedicated workers have served our Nation at great risk and sacrifice to not only themselves but to further generations of their families. It is my hope that we can honor their service and sacrifice through the passage of House Resolution 790.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting Ms. Berkley, who is the lead sponsor of this resolution, in expressing our support for the goals and ideals of a national day of remembrance for American nuclear and uranium workers.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this point I would like to recognize for 5 minutes Representative Shelley Berkley of Nevada, the lead sponsor of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the cosponsor of this resolution, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Loebsack).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield 2 minutes to another lead cosponsor of this measure, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter).

Mr. Speaker, I would now like to yield 3 minutes to another lead cosponsor of this resolution, the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus).

Mr. Speaker, at this point I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Davis).

(Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, again I urge my colleagues to join with Ms. Berkley and Mr. Wamp on the other side of the aisle to recognize and honor America's nuclear industry and uranium workers through the passage of House Resolution 790.

I yield back the balance of our time.

I thank the distinguished ranking member and chairman of the subcommittee and the ranking member and chairman of the full committee, and especially Ms. Berkeley for her initiative on this important resolution.

One of the greatest privileges of my service here over the last 15 years is representing Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which played a critical role in the defense of our country, from the Manhattan Project forward. As we know, since 1942, almost three-quarters of a million people have worked in this industry, the nuclear industry.

Some of our citizens in this country have been called during war to serve in

the uniform of our country. Some volunteered, some mandatorily; many were in tanks, in airports, ships, submarines. Many were in our plants and our facilities doing the same kind of work in a different venue, just as patriotic, just as sacrificial, and they haven't received, at different times, the due that they deserve. But the day after tomorrow, October 30, 2009, all across the country in different places, people will come together for this important commemoration, a day of recognition and remembrance, remembering those that have gone on.

As the chairman said, many have died from the very illnesses that they got from their service and their sacrifice. Their families suffered a lot with them because they became ill doing this work in very difficult and unhealthy environments.

Years ago here, in the Congress, about 10 years ago, I was one of the original authors of the legislation to compensate those people that became ill, commonly known as the Sick Worker Legislation, the acronym is EEOICPA, the hardest one to memorize. With a Democratic administration--the Clinton administration--and a Republican Congress, we hammered out and forged a benefit program for these sick workers.

I want to thank on the floor of the House today Senator Fred Thompson, who stood up as a Republican with me at the time and others in a bipartisan way to provide this benefit to these families. Many of these families received $150,000 for the direct illnesses that they received from their extraordinary sacrifice.

As we remember those that have died, we need to thank as a Nation all of those who became ill because of their exposure to these very chemicals and these toxicities that have been talked about on the floor today, but also recognize those that are still out there that are working that have survived. Maybe they've retired. It's so very important that we do this, because these are patriots who helped us win the Cold War and helped us create the deterrent that has kept the world safer.

This nuclear industry is important. These facilities are important. The Department of Energy has played an important role, we knew it as the Atomic Energy Commission at that time, which evolved into the Department of Energy. It's a labor of love to work in a bipartisan way, in the Congress, to have this official day of recognition and remembrance for all of these workers, past and present and future, frankly, because we are still cleaning up the legacy of this Cold War investment. That's an important investment as well for our country to make.

It's an honor and a privilege to coauthor this resolution with Congresswoman Berkley. Again, I want to close by thanking her for taking this initiative, because it is an important step. While many of us, because the House will be in session on Friday, October 30, will not physically be there at these remembrances, we are there with you 100 percent in a bipartisan way as the Congress of the United States comes together. The Senate passed their resolution on May 20 for this official day of recognition and remembrance for all of these nuclear workers through the years and into the future.

The United States of America and the Congress of the United States thanks you and recognizes you and remembers those who have given so much in defense of our liberties.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 790, a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of a national day of remembrance on October 30th, 2009, for American nuclear weapons program workers and uranium miners, millers, and haulers. I would like to thank my good friend and colleague, Congresswoman Berkley, for introducing this important resolution.

The national day of remembrance recognizes the contributions of heroes whose efforts on the front line of the Cold War changed history. Their service to our Nation was instrumental in the effort to create a nuclear deterrent

that helped defeat the forces of Communism. Too often, their efforts are not recognized the way the veterans of other wars have been. But just as our veterans of other battles served with distinction to protect our Nation, so too did the workers at atomic weapons facilities.

More than half a million Americans have worked since 1942 to create and maintain the United States nuclear arsenal. And while they did not face the dangers of conventional warfare, unfortunately, too many of these workers were left with the lasting scars of a battle that was waged in labs and test facilities across the country.

Many former workers suffered from radiation and toxic exposure in their work on our nuclear forces. These workers from around the country deserve our support and are entitled to the care and benefits they have earned from their service during a period of our history when the threat of nuclear war was ever-present. Just as we care for our soldiers returning home from the battlefield, it is our responsibility to care for the workers from our nuclear weapons facilities who have been exposed to dangerous materials that harm their health.

I especially salute the workers at the Nevada Test Site, also known as the National Sacrifice Zone, and thank them for their service. For more than four decades, they tested nuclear weapons that contribute to the safety and security of our Nation.

I have been privileged to work with many of them as a board member of the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation and as a sponsor of State legislation to help facilitate the creation of the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas so their incredible story can be made available for all to see and contemplate.

The UNLV Oral History Program has also amassed hundreds of interviews with test site workers and preserved their experiences and reflections on life in the shadow of the mushroom cloud for scholars, journalists and other people of interest to have access to.

So I thank you again, Mr. Speaker, and the other sponsors of this important resolution. I urge its passage.

I thank the gentleman for yielding. I also would like to thank Congresswoman Berkley for her leadership in introducing this resolution and the supporters on both sides of the aisle. In particular, I want to thank Congressman Wamp for his extremely eloquent testimonial just now.

I rise in strong support of House Resolution 790. For decades during the Cold War, hundreds of thousands of Atomic Energy Commission employees, including thousands of workers at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in my district, labored in hazardous conditions at our Nation's nuclear weapons facilities. In the end, many of these workers sacrificed their health for the security of our Nation, working with beryllium, asbestos, uranium and radiation, without knowing the impacts these materials would later have on their health. But for far too long, their service and sacrifice have not been properly honored. They are truly the unheralded heroes of the Cold War.

That will begin to change on October 30th, happily; October 30th marks the first national day of remembrance for our country's nuclear workers. On this day, our country will pause to pay tribute to our Cold War heroes, many of whom have paid a high price for their service. The resolution that we are considering today urges all Americans to recognize the men and women who have served our country selflessly and with great dedication in its nuclear facilities.

I have had the distinct honor of meeting some of the Iowans who worked on Line One of the Burlington Atomic Energy Commission plant. These are the workers who assembled, disassembled, modified and tested weapons in Iowa between 1949 and 1975. They are true patriots, and their service was critical to our country's security throughout the uncertain decades of the Cold War.

I urge all Americans to reflect upon their work and their sacrifices, and I urge my colleagues to support this critical resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 790, designating October 30th, 2009, as American nuclear weapons program workers remembrance day. I want to thank my good friend, the gentlelady from Nevada, for introducing this resolution.

During World War II, countless men and women across the country sacrificed to ensure victory for our common ideals of democracy and freedom and to defeat tyrannical forces committing grave atrocities. This sacrifice continues to be true of the men and women who work in the nuclear weapons program, including uranium miners, millers, and haulers.

In my home State of Tennessee, the Oak Ridge National Security Complex remains at the forefront of nuclear weapons development and manufacturing, providing security for the American people and our allies. These facilities have provided employment opportunities for East Tennesseans for decades.

Unfortunately, throughout the years, nuclear workers have endured many physical dangers, including exposure to ionic radiation and other toxic substances. These patriotic workers are, at the very least, owed recognition of their great sacrifices. That is why I rise today in support of this resolution.

As we look back to remember America's nuclear weapons program workers, it is important to look forward in our attempts to develop and improve protective equipment in order to create a safer workplace. We have made strides in protecting nuclear workers in recent times, and this government has a responsibility to continue that commitment.

So, Mr. Speaker, I rise to say to these workers in Tennessee and around this great country, thank you for your service that continues to contribute to our national peace and security. Your patriotic sacrifices do not go unnoticed.