Cortez Masto Joins Nevada Delegation on Bipartisan Bill to Support Veterans Exposed to Radiation in Nevada

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Representatives Susie Lee (D-Nev.-03) and Mark Amodei (R-Nev.-02) in introducing the Sergeant Dave Crete Fighting for the Overlooked Recognition of Groups Operating in Toxic Test Environments in Nevada (FORGOTTEN) Veterans Act.

This bill would require the Department of Defense (DOD) to join the Department of Energy (DOE) in classifying the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), and all other locations where radiation and toxic exposure occurred, as contaminated; identify everyone who served within the NTTR since the first nuclear test on the range in 1951; establish a process for service members and veterans to provide proof of their service within the NTTR; and require the DOD to share this documentation with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as well as any injuries, exposures, or illnesses related to their service, so that impacted veterans will finally be able to claim and access their VA benefits.

From the 1950s through the 1990s, the NTTR - and the then-Nevada Test Site contained within it - conducted over 900 explosive nuclear weapons tests and other dangerous, toxic activities. Currently the DOD does not consider the NTTR to be a location where contamination and exposure occurred, but the DOE does for their civilian personnel who served in the same locations. Because of this mismatch in designations, NTTR veterans are not granted the same service-connected presumption of exposure and can't receive the care and benefits they would otherwise be owed under the PACT Act. And because their location of service in their personnel records is classified, these veterans are unable to verify where they served when attempting to file a claim for benefits. This undermines the very intent of the PACT Act and continues to force aging veterans to navigate impossible evidentiary burdens.

"Our veterans who served at the Nevada Test and Training Range put their lives on the line to keep Americans safe," said Senator Cortez Masto. "Now that they are faced with the health impacts of their service, bureaucratic red tape is preventing them from claiming the benefits they are owed. This commonsense, bipartisan bill will ensure our veterans can finally access the care they need."

Senator Cortez Masto has been a leader in work to help veterans who served within the NTTR receive the benefits they deserve. Last year, she cosponsored the first version of the FORGOTTEN Veterans Act, which advanced out of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Cortez Masto has also worked across the aisle to pass bills into law that help veterans exposed to Agent Orange and expand benefits for women veterans.

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