II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2825 

To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to revise the definition 

of ‘‘affected area’’ and extend the period in which compensation may 

be provided, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 

Mr. LEE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to revise the definition of ‘‘affected area’’ and extend the 

period in which compensation may be provided, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Downwinders Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE RADIATION EXPOSURE COM2 PENSATION ACT. 

3 (a) AFFECTED AREAS.—Section 4 of the Radiation 

4 Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note; Public 

5 Law 101–426) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

9 (I) in clause (i)— 

10 (aa) in subclause (II), by 

11 striking ‘‘; or’’ and inserting a 

12 semicolon; 

13 (bb) by redesignating sub14 clause (III) as subclause (IV); 

15 and 

16 (cc) by inserting after sub17 clause (II) the following: 

18 ‘‘(III) was physically present in 

19 the affected area described in sub20 section (b)(1)(D) for the period begin21 ning on July 16, 1945, and ending on 

22 August 16, 1945; or’’; and 

23 (II) in clause (ii)(I), by striking 

24 ‘‘physical presence described in sub25 clause (I) or (II) of clause (i) or on26 site participation described in clause 


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1 (i)(III)’’ and inserting ‘‘physical pres2 ence described in subclause (I), (II), 

3 or (III) of clause (i) or onsite partici4 pation described in clause (i)(IV)’’; 

5 and 

6 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

7 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘sub8 clause (I) or (II) of subparagraph 

9 (A)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘subclause (I), 

10 (II), or (III) of subparagraph (A)(i)’’; 

11 and 

12 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

13 ‘‘subclause (III)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub14 clause (IV)’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, 

17 or’’ and inserting a comma; 

18 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

19 (C) as subparagraph (D); 

20 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

21 (B) the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) was physically present in the affected 

23 area described in subsection (b)(1)(D) for the 

24 period beginning on July 16, 1945, and ending 

25 on August 16, 1945, or’’; and 


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1 (iv) in the matter following subpara2 graph (D), as so redesignated, by striking 

3 ‘‘subparagraph (A) or (B)’’ and all that 

4 follows through ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A), (B), or (C)) 

6 or $75,000 (in the case of an individual 

7 described in subparagraph (D)’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘in 

10 the State’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Piute’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘the State of Utah’’; 

12 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; 

13 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(D) with respect to a claim by an indi16 vidual under subsection (a)(1)(A)(i)(III) or sub17 section (a)(2)(C), only the counties of 

18 Bernalillo, Chaves, Guadalupe, Lincoln, 

19 Sandoval, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Socorro, Tor20 rance, and Valencia in the State of New Mex21 ico; and’’. 

22 (b) EXTENSION OF PERIOD OF COMPENSATION.— 

23 (1) TERMINATION OF FUND.—Section 3(d) of 

24 the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 


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1 U.S.C. 2210 note; Public Law 101–426) is amend2 ed— 

3 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘22’’ 

4 and all that follows through ‘‘2000’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘on the date that is 10 years after the date 

6 of enactment of the Downwinders Act’’; and 

7 (B) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘by 

8 the end of that 22-year period’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘by such date of termination’’. 

10 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 8(a) of the Radi11 ation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 

12 note; Public Law 101–426) is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘22’’ and all that follows through ‘‘2000’’ and in14 serting ‘‘10 years after the date of enactment of the 

15 Downwinders Act’’. 

16 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 6 of the 

17 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 

18 note; Public Law 101–426) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(C), by striking ‘‘section 

20 4(a)(2)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 4(a)(2)(D)’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (c)(2)— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

23 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

24 by striking ‘‘subsection (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), 

25 or (a)(2)(B) of section 4’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘subsection (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), or 

2 (a)(2)(C) of section 4’’; and 

3 (ii) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘sub4 section (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), or (a)(2)(B) of 

5 section 4’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

6 (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), or (a)(2)(C) of 

7 section 4’’; and 

8 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘sec9 tion 4(a)(2)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

10 4(a)(2)(D)’’; and 

11 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘subsection 

12 (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), or (a)(2)(B) of section 4’’ and in13 serting ‘‘subsection (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), or 

14 (a)(2)(C) of section 4’’. 

15 SEC. 3. STUDY ON COUNTIES AFFECTED BY RADIATION 

16 FALL-OUT DUE TO OPEN AIR NUCLEAR TEST17 ING CONDUCTED IN NEVADA AND NEW MEX18 ICO. 

19 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

21 in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall conduct 

22 a research study and report to Congress on which counties 

23 were affected by radiation fall-out due to open air nuclear 

24 testing conducted in Nevada and New Mexico, as identi25 fied using evidence-based analysis. 


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1 SEC. 4. SPECTRUM AUCTION. 

2 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF SPECTRUM TO BE AUC3 TIONED.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact4 ment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce 

5 for Communications and Information, in consultation with 

6 the Federal Communications Commission and the Direc7 tor of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall 

8 identify 100 megahertz of electromagnetic spectrum that 

9 is assigned or allocated to the Federal Government to be 

10 made available for non-Federal commercial licensed use 

11 through an auction under subsection (b). 

12 (b) AUCTION.—Not later than 18 months after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communica14 tions Commission shall conduct a system of competitive 

15 bidding under section 309(j) of the Communications Act 

16 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) to grant new licenses for the 

17 spectrum identified under subsection (a). 

18 (c) AUCTION PROCEEDS TO COVER 110 PERCENT OF

19 FEDERAL RELOCATION OR SHARING COSTS.—Nothing in 

20 this section shall be construed to relieve the Federal Com21 munications Commission from the requirements under 

22 section 309(j)(16)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 

23 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(16)(B)). 

24 (d) DEPOSIT OF AUCTION PROCEEDS IN RADIATION

25 EXPOSURE COMPENSATION TRUST FUND.—Section 


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1 309(j)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

2 309(j)(8)) is amended— 

3 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and (G)’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘(G), and (H)’’; 

5 (2) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking ‘‘and 

6 (G)’’ and inserting ‘‘(G), and (H)’’; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(H) USE OF AUCTION PROCEEDS FOR RA9 DIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION.—Notwith10 standing subparagraph (A), and except as pro11 vided in subparagraph (B), of the proceeds (in12 cluding deposits and upfront payments from 

13 successful bidders) from the use of a system of 

14 competitive bidding under this subsection pur15 suant to section 4 of the Downwinders Act, the 

16 Commission shall deposit not less than 

17 $2,500,000,000 and not more than 

18 $5,000,000,000 in the Radiation Exposure 

19 Compensation Trust Fund established under 

20 section 3(a) of the Radiation Exposure Com21 pensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note; Public 

22 Law 101–426), to be used for disbursement by 

23 the Attorney General under section 6 of such 

24 Act.’’. 

Æ 


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