IA 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. J. RES. 202 

Formally apologizing for the nuclear legacy of the United States in the 

Republic of the Marshall Islands and affirming the importance of free 

association between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Marshall Islands. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2024 

Ms. PORTER submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Formally apologizing for the nuclear legacy of the United 

States in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and affirming the importance of free association between the 

Government of the United States and the Government 

of the Marshall Islands. 

Whereas the United States took the islands now constituting 

the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of 

Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia along with 

the Northern Mariana Islands from Japan through 

bloody battles during World War II; 

Whereas the United States persuaded the United Nations to 

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tory and the United States as Administering Authority of 

those islands pending the development of self-government 

on such islands; 

Whereas the United States used the northern atolls of the islands to conduct extensive nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War; 

Whereas, in response to United Nations Security Council concerns with respect to such testing, President Harry S. 

Truman wrote that the people of the Marshall Islands 

‘‘will be accorded all rights which are the normal constitutional rights of the citizens under the Constitution’’ 

and ‘‘will be dealt with as wards of the United States for 

whom this country has special responsibilities’’; 

Whereas March 1 is Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day in 

the Marshall Islands, which memorializes the 67 nuclear 

tests the United States conducted in the Marshall Islands; 

Whereas, between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted nuclear testing that produced an explosive yield 

many times greater than the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, constituting the majority of explosive yield of all atmospheric U.S. nuclear weapons testing; 

Whereas the Castle Bravo test on March 1, 1954, remains 

the largest ever nuclear test by the United States, which 

yielded an explosion equivalent to approximately 1,000 

times the power of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima; 

Whereas the Castle Bravo test, in particular, seriously exposed civilians to radiation; 

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ducted in 2019 by Columbia University researchers found 

that levels of radioactive contamination on the four atolls 

most affected by nuclear testing exceeded the levels of radioactive contamination in Chernobyl, Ukraine, and 

Fukushima, Japan; 

Whereas the resettlement of individuals on such atolls, which 

were later found to be unsafe due to direct exposure to 

nuclear fallout, contributed to increased cancer rates, 

birth defects, and other illnesses among the people of the 

Marshall Islands; 

Whereas, from January 1, 1977, to December 31, 1980, a 

joint task group made up largely of contractors, but including Department of Defense servicemembers and civilians, conducted radiological cleanup and built the Runit 

Dome (also known as the Cactus Crater containment 

structure) on Enewetak Atoll to house more than 

110,000 cubic yards of radioactively contaminated soil 

and debris; 

Whereas more than 99 percent of all transuranic elements at 

Enewetak Atoll remain outside the Runit Dome; 

Whereas, since 2012, the Secretary of Energy has been responsible, under section 103(f)(1) of the Compact of Free 

Association Amendments Act of 2003 (48 U.S.C. 

1921b(f)(1)), for quadrennial studies of the groundwater 

surrounding and in the Cactus Crater containment structure, but the Secretary has failed to complete such studies; 

Whereas, in October 2012, an official of the Department of 

Energy testified before Congress that seawater is ‘‘communicating’’ with the radioactive material in Cactus Crater; 


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Whereas many of the members of the Armed Forces who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll have remained 

largely ineligible for benefits related to radiation exposure; 

Whereas the Government and the people of the Marshall Islands have an ongoing need for assistance from the 

United States for personal injuries, adverse effects on 

health, the loss of land, and property damages; 

Whereas a study by the National Cancer Institute, published 

in August 2010, found that 55 percent of the cancers in 

Rongelap Atoll and 10 percent of cancers in Utrik Atoll 

during such period may be attributable to fallout exposure; 

Whereas in section 2(c) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (Public Law 101–426; 42 U.S.C. 2210 

note), Congress apologized to individuals affected by 

above-ground nuclear testing in the Southwest United 

States, but the United States has made no such apology 

for the legacy of United States nuclear testing in the 

Marshall Islands; 

Whereas the United States continues to have a critical national security relationship with the Marshall Islands, 

which— 

(1) is home to a facility the Joint Chiefs of Staff 

refer to as ‘‘the world’s premiere range for intercontinental ballistic missile testing and space operations support’’; and 

(2) in conjunction with the other Freely Associated 

States, guarantees the United States strategic control of 

an area of the Pacific Ocean between the Philippines and 

Hawaii that is larger than the 48 contiguous United 

States; 


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Whereas the sustained commitment by the United States to 

the Freely Associated States will— 

(1) ensure that the United States maintains control 

of shipping lanes in the Pacific Ocean; and 

(2) deter efforts by the Peoples Republic of China 

to alienate the people of the Freely Associated States 

from the United States; 

Whereas the Marshall Islands are more important to the national interests of the United States now than they have 

been at any time since World War II; 

Whereas President Ronald Reagan encouraged the people of 

the Marshall Islands to ratify the Compact of Free Association Between the United States and the Republic of 

the Marshall Islands, done at Majuro on June 25, 1983, 

by telling such people, ‘‘you will always be family to us’’; 

and 

Whereas the United States has a moral responsibility and a 

national security imperative— 

(1) to formally apologize to the people of the Marshall Islands for the consequences of the nuclear weapons 

testing program; 

(2) to reaffirm the kinship and commitment of the 

United States to, and concern for, the people of the Freely Associated States; and 

(3) to demonstrate that the United States lives up 

to its history and responsibilities in the vital Indo-Pacific 

region and elsewhere: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 That Congress— 

4 (1) recognizes that— 


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1 (A) the United States nuclear testing pro2 gram and radioactive waste disposal in the 

3 Marshall Islands caused irreparable material 

4 and intangible harm to the people of the Mar5 shall Islands; and 

6 (B) although the United States governed 

7 the Marshall Islands during such nuclear test8 ing program and had complete responsibility for 

9 the welfare of the people of the Marshall Is10 lands, the United States— 

11 (i) failed to evacuate those people 

12 from areas contaminated by nuclear radi13 ation; 

14 (ii) the historic resettlement of the 

15 atolls occurred in conditions that carried 

16 risks, although remediation and cleanup 

17 has improved the conditions since that 

18 time; and 

19 (iii) conducted medical research on in20 dividuals without the consent of such peo21 ple; 

22 (2) apologizes on behalf of the United States to 

23 the individuals and families of the Marshall Islands 

24 for the hardships they have endured as a result of 


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1 the United States nuclear testing program and ra2 dioactive waste disposal; 

3 (3) has committed to provide assistance to the 

4 Marshall Islands and the other Freely Associated 

5 States (the Federated States of Micronesia and the 

6 Republic of Palau) to adapt to the worst effects of 

7 the climate crisis which, among other existential 

8 challenges, includes rising seas that are moving ra9 dioactive matter outside of the Runit Dome, and 

10 should do more in this regard; 

11 (4) urges the Secretary of Energy to complete 

12 as soon as possible a radiochemical analysis of the 

13 groundwater surrounding Cactus Crater in accord14 ance with section 103(f)(1) of the Compact of Free 

15 Association Amendments Act of 2003 (48 U.S.C. 

16 1921b(f)(1)); 

17 (5) commits to securing healthcare coverage for 

18 veterans of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel 

19 who participated in the clean up of radiological 

20 waste of former United States nuclear test sites in 

21 the Marshall Islands; 

22 (6) affirms that the Compact of Free Associa23 tion, as amended and added to, between the United 

24 States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 

25 done at Majuro on June 25, 1983 (referred to in 


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1 this resolution as the ‘‘Compact of Free Associa2 tion’’), most recently in the Compact of Free Asso3 ciation Amendments Act of 2024, reflected the ongo4 ing commitment of the United States to address 

5 problems faced by the people of the Marshall Islands 

6 stemming from United States nuclear weapons tests 

7 in many respects through section 206(c) of the Com8 pact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2024 

9 and other provisions, and is the cornerstone of the 

10 strong relationship between the Marshall Islands and 

11 the United States, which also includes— 

12 (A) vital contributions of the people of the 

13 Marshall Islands in the United States; 

14 (B) high rates of service in the Armed 

15 Forces by citizens of the Marshall Islands; and 

16 (C) a shared desire for a free, stable, and 

17 prosperous Indo-Pacific region; 

18 (7) has demonstrated commitment between the 

19 United States Freely Associated States and the 

20 United States Government to be the bedrock of a 

21 free and open Indo-Pacific through the Compact of 

22 Free Association Amendments Act of 2024; and 

23 (8) acknowledges that nothing in this resolu24 tion— 


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1 (A) authorizes any claim against the 

2 United States; 

3 (B) supersedes any provision of the Com4 pact of Free Association or its subsidiary agree5 ments; and 

6 (C) serves as a settlement of any claim 

7 against the United States. 

Æ 


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