Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act

This bill renews and expands programs that pay money to people who were exposed to radiation from nuclear testing or uranium mining and later got sick, including from cancers. It makes more people eligible by changing the qualifying dates of exposure, adding new types of mining work, covering people in parts of Alaska, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee affected by waste from the Manhattan Project, and increasing the payment amounts. The bill also gives people five more years to file claims, expands benefits for former Department of Energy workers who got sick on the job, and sets up a grant program for colleges to study the health effects of uranium mining on nearby communities. Finally, it asks a government watchdog agency to look into whether people exposed to radiation from nuclear tests are getting the medical coverage they need.

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