Rep. Vasquez’s Downwinder Commemoration Act Advances to House Floor with Unanimous, Bipartisan Support

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On April 21, 2026, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) announced that his Downwinder Commemoration Act unanimously passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee, marking a major bipartisan step toward establishing a permanent monument honoring New Mexico's Downwinders at White Sands National Park. The park receives over 700,000 visitors a year and sits less than 100 miles from the site of the Trinity Test.

This win builds on Rep. Vasquez's success in passing the Downwinder Commemoration Actinto law through the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, requiring the Department of Defense to establish monuments to the Downwinder community at White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base.

"New Mexico's Downwinder community has been denied the recognition it is owed for far too long. ​Today's unanimous passage of the Downwinder Commemoration Act out of the House Natural Resources Committee is a major step toward ​securing a permanent monument at White Sands National Park, a site visited by over 700,000 people each year located just miles from the Trinity Test," said Vasquez.

"As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I fought hard to successfully pass a law requiring monuments at White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base, and today's win is another major step in the right direction. If we fail to remember our history, we are doomed to repeat it. I call on the full House to pass this legislation into law," Vasquez added.

In 1945, a secret nuclear test at the Trinity Site exposed hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans to radioactive fallout without warning, contaminating land, livestock, and communities across the state. For decades, these Downwinders suffered serious health impacts without recognition - until 2025, when the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was finally expanded to include New Mexicans in a huge win.

Rep. Vasquez has long worked closely with the Downwinder community to secure the long-overdue recognition and compensation they are owed, and he will continue to do so.

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