Burgess Owens is the Congressman from Utah’s Fourth Congressional District. Born in the segregated South, he saw people of all backgrounds come together to work tirelessly against adversity.
As a young man, Burgess was one of the first four black athletes recruited to play football at the University of Miami and the third black student there to receive a scholarship. He was the 13th pick in the first round of the 1973 NFL draft and joined the New York Jets, later playing safety for ten seasons in the NFL for the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders, winning the Superbowl with the 1980 Raiders’ team.
Tragically, under the banner of national security, the U.S. government exposed Utahns and Americans to radioactive uranium ore and radioactive dust – subjecting them to lung cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Twenty years ago, former Utah Senator Orrin Hatch championed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to make sure the sacrifices of our state’s downwinders and their families are never forgotten.
Radiation exposure caused by the U.S. atomic weapon development program forever destroyed lives and livelihoods in Utah and throughout the west. It has been over twenty years since any meaningful reform to RECA – now is the time for the federal government to renew its support and right these wrongs.
In Congress, I championed the RECA Extension Act of 2022, led by Senator Mike Lee in the Senate, to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act program for an additional two years. The bipartisan, bicameral bill passed the House in May 2022.
I was also proud to lead the bipartisan Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2021 and look forward to delivering downwinders the support they deserve.
The RECA Amendments of 2021 would: