Tribune editorial: By failing to renew aid for Downwinders, Utah members of Congress fail their constituents

Utah goes to a great deal of effort and expense to send six people to represent it in the United States Congress. Sometimes it is difficult to see why we bother.

Not one of the Utah congressional delegation — two senators and four members of the House of Representatives, all Republicans — has lifted a finger to win for Utahns an extension and expansion of a federal program designed to make some small recompense to people who became ill and died as a direct result of open-air nuclear weapons testing throughout the Cold War.

It’s called the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act and, since 1990, it has allocated some $2.6 billion to assist some 40,000 “Downwinders.” Those are the victims suffering from cancers and other maladies caused by the radioactive clouds that drifted across Nevada, Utah and other states, as well as workers who were exposed to radiation in weapons facilities and mines.

The law expired in June, despite several congressional efforts to extend the program and expand its benefits to residents of northern Utah and many other states where people were affected.

function onSignUp() { const token = grecaptcha.getResponse(); if (!token) { alert("Please verify the reCAPTCHA!"); } else { axios .post( "https://8c0ug47jei.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/dev/newsletter/checkCaptcha", { token, env: "PROD", } ) .then(({ data: { message } }) => { console.log(message); if (message === "Human

Tribune editorial: By failing to renew aid for Downwinders, Utah members of Congress fail their constituents

Tribune editorial: By failing to renew aid for Downwinders, Utah members of Congress fail their constituents

Tribune editorial: By failing to renew aid for Downwinders, Utah members of Congress fail their constituents

Tribune editorial: By failing to renew aid for Downwinders, Utah members of Congress fail their constituents

Tribune editorial: By failing to renew aid for Downwinders, Utah members of Congress fail their constituents