 This year’s military funding bill has a provision that gives some compensation to communities exposed to radiation from nuclear weapons testing and uranium mining, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of Senators passed an amendment to the bill that would significantly strengthen RECA by including many previously excluded communities and improving benefits. But the campaign to obstruct this needed improvement is gaining strength. We need you to call Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, the new Speaker of the House, and tell him to keep RECA in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). His number is (202) 225-4000. Each year, Congress gives hundreds of billions of dollars to military corporations, while communities are told that there simply isn’t enough money for the programs they desperately need to meet their basic needs. And the military budget keeps growing, eternally: the 2024 funding bill is $15 billion higher than the previous year. The United States can easily afford the much smaller cost of supporting the people and families whose lives and health have been forever changed by nuclear weapons. Call Rep. Mike Johnson today at (202) 225-4000 and demand that Congress supports these communities. Use your own words, but here's an idea of what you can say in case it helps you: Hi, my name is [your name]. I’m calling to urge Speaker Mike Johnson to keep provisions to strengthen the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA [pronounced REEK-AH], in the NDAA. Senate Amendment 1058, introduced and passed by Sen Hawley in the Senate, would improve RECA by finally including radiation-exposed communities that have been struggling for justice for decades. Congressman Johnson has said in the past that this issue “is a bipartisan concern,” and Rep Jim Jordan has said repeatedly: "No one here disputes that if the Federal Government recklessly took actions that led to our citizens getting cancer, we should provide compensation for that harm." We know the government did expose its own people to radiation. RECA is the remedy for that harm. Please make sure RECA stays in the NDAA. | 
