King-Hinds Statement on Introduction of Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act

Saipan - Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds issued the following statement on the introduction of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026 (RECRA), which includes language directing the Department of Energy to study whether radioactive fallout from U.S. nuclear testing in the Pacific between 1946 and 1962 reached the Northern Mariana Islands and affected residents. The legislation also requires DOE to assess potential radiation exposure and health risks and determine whether the evidence supports extending federal radiation-exposure compensation eligibility to CNMI residents.

"For decades, Pacific communities have lived with unanswered questions about the long-term consequences of America's nuclear weapons program. The Northern Mariana Islands deserves answers too. This issue was recently raised with me by members of our community who asked whether radioactive fallout from nuclear testing in the Pacific may have reached the Northern Mariana Islands and what that exposure could have meant for the health of our people. I want to give them credit for raising an important question that deserves to be examined.

"My responsibility as your Delegate is to listen when concerns are brought to me, look at the facts, and then determine what we can do about them. That is what we did here. We began examining the issue, brought the CNMI's concerns to our federal partners, and now this legislation calls for research into radiation exposure and its potential impacts on the Northern Mariana Islands, while also expanding compensation and improving access to health resources for communities affected by America's nuclear testing program.

"I am grateful to Congressman James Moylan for his partnership and for working with me to ensure the CNMI was included in this legislation. We should not presume what the science will tell us. But our people deserve to have the question asked, the history examined, and the research done.

"This is how representative government should work: our community raises a concern, we listen, and then we get to work finding answers."