A New RECA Countdown Has Begun

By Tim Lerew, Cold War Patriots Spokesperson, Emeritus

On July 4^th, 2025, uranium miners, millers, transporters, and clean-up workers joined with downwinders, onsite participants, and Manhattan Project waste claimants to celebrate a significant victory, gaining eligibility for compensation and benefits after major amendments were made to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

A Big Win for Workers

That hard-won victory, authorizing compensation and benefits to potentially tens of thousands of newly eligible RECA claimants and their families, came with a significant catch. In order to win bipartisan support while containing costs, the newly expanded RECA program will only accept claims until December 31, 2027. At the time of this writing, the first seven months of the new program have already passed, and less than 24 months remain for claims to be filed with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Information and claim forms can be found on the DOJ website, as well as on the Cold War Patriots website.

But here’s the big surprise so far: to date, far fewer claims, especially for uranium workers, have been filed than expected. For this category of workers, including miners, millers, transporters, and, for the first time, remediation or clean-up workers, only 211 new claims have been filed as of January 16, 2026. Of those, 68 claims totaling $6,800,000 have been paid by the DOJ, leaving 143 uranium worker claims pending.

This is a far, far cry from the thousands of eligible worker claims that were expected.

The Role of Public Awareness

Some of the explanations have to do with what’s in the news. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley made compensation for those harmed by living or working near certain Manhattan Project waste sites an essential cornerstone of last year’s comprehensive RECA amendment, along with the extensive news coverage that campaign created. Further, Senator Hawley refused to vote for the overall Big Beautiful Bill unless the RECA amendments were included. That high visibility last year translated into claims. Indeed, twenty-four times more Manhattan waste claims were filed since the amendment became law; that is, 5,317 versus just 211 for the uranium workers.

Think about it this way: Who was the top recording artist in 2025?  If you answered Taylor Swift, congratulations! Almost everywhere last year, from concert news to NFL football, you saw Taylor Swift. She was top of mind. Now, who was the top recording artist in 1990, the year the first RECA law was enacted? Back then, more than 35 years ago, the case can be made that it was Madonna. The 1980s’ most famous “material girl” was everywhere. Like Madonna, the plight of uranium workers and downwinders made sick from radioactive exposure was much more top-of-mind in 1990.

The Cold War had just ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall. People were concerned. Many knew about the issue, and it was often in the news. Indeed, popular protests were part of the reason America conducted its last underground explosive nuclear test in 1992. In addition, a 30-year-old uranium worker who became sick made an impact on his family and community. And to qualify, they had to have worked with uranium during or in the years before 1971. If that same thirty-year-old did not start their uranium career until 1972, they were simply not eligible under the old law for benefits. And now, that same worker who is now eligible would be 86 years old, if they are still alive at all. Today, Madonna herself is 67 years old, no longer top-of-mind as she once was.

Yes, since the new RECA law makes uranium workers eligible for covered employment through 1990, a 20-year-old then would be around 56 now. Or 66 if they started in 1980. Or 74 now if they started in 1972, not eligible under the old law, but now newly eligible if they have one of the covered illnesses. Too many of these older Americans continue to suffer in silence.

Contrast those historical perspectives with those of children and adults living adjacent to Manhattan waste sites today, actively suffering from a variety of cancers now, who frequently appear on the evening news in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. Add the awareness created by frequent and current media reporting, as well as word of mouth from one relative or neighbor to another, and you can begin to see why the number of Manhattan waste claims is so high, even though thousands of former uranium workers, especially in western states such as New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, are also potentially eligible.

Making Up for Lost Time 50+ Years Later

In August of 2025, I came out of my own retirement to assist Cold War Patriots in informational meetings and over the phone, reaching some of those newly eligible uranium workers. One of them, let’s call him Eduardo, worked in uranium mills as a young man in the 1970s. Previously, his years of employment and current case of chronic kidney disease (CKD) were not covered by RECA. Now, with the RECA amendment passed in 2025, he was eligible for compensation and free medical benefits for his CKD, for which he receives dialysis three times per week. With information and encouragement from Cold War Patriots, Eduardo’s claim went forward last summer. He recently contacted me to let me know he was not only approved but had also received his financial award. That extra money has helped him relocate from New Mexico to be closer to his son’s family in Arizona, and his health benefits mean he’ll not have any further expenses related to his dialysis or home care. As we talked on the phone, it struck me that he now sounded confident in going forward and really enjoying his years ahead with family and friends. Yet he is one of just 211 uranium workers to have submitted their claims by January of this year. We know there are many, many more workers like Eduardo, whose stories are no longer featured on the evening news, but whose lives can be changed for the better. Do you or someone you know sound like Eduardo?  Let’s see what Cold War Patriots can do to help. All the information we provide is at no charge, and it’s up to the worker to use an attorney, just as Eduardo did, to assist them with their claims.

Remember, the clock is ticking. We now have less than two years to submit RECA claims before the program once again expires. I plan to be back again this summer, encouraging uranium workers to claim the benefits they earned. Call the Cold War Patriots Help Center at 855-230-1339 or email us at [email protected] to help those who did their part to keep America free and safe.