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ing wind conditions, led to radioactive exposure of civil-
ians on multiple atolls, who were not evacuated for more 
than 48 hours after the blast; 
Whereas a 2019 study by Columbia University researchers 
found that levels of radioactive contamination on the 4 
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 the United States conducted medical research on in-
dividuals in the Marshall Islands without their knowledge 
or consent; 
Whereas, from January 1, 1977, to December 31, 1980, a 
joint task group of members of the Armed Forces and ci-
vilian employees and contractors 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, in addition to the radioactive waste from the Ne-
vada Test Site that was dumped into the Enewetak La-
goon, more than 99 percent of all plutonium at Enewetak 
Atoll remains outside the Runit Dome; 
Whereas, since 2012, the Secretary of Energy has been re-
sponsible, 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 
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•HJ 73 IH 
surrounding and in the Cactus Crater containment struc-
ture, but the Secretary has failed to complete such stud-
ies; 
Whereas, in October 2012, an official of the Department of 
Energy testified before Congress that seawater is ‘‘com-
municating’’ with the radioactive material in Cactus Cra-
ter; 
Whereas many of the members of the Armed Forces who par-
ticipated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll have remained 
largely ineligible for benefits related to radiation expo-
sure; 
Whereas the Government and the people of the Marshall Is-
lands have long argued that compensation and assistance 
from the United States for personal injuries, adverse ef-
fects on health, the loss of land, and property damages 
have been inadequate; 
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 expo-
sure; 
Whereas, in section 2(c) of the Radiation Exposure Com-
pensation 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 Marshall Islands is one of the countries most 
vulnerable to the climate crisis; 
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•HJ 73 IH 
Whereas rising sea levels threaten to engulf the entire nation, 
which has no elevation higher than six feet; 
Whereas Hilda Heine, former President of the Marshall Is-
lands, stated that a failure of developed countries to pur-
sue bolder climate action meant that her country was 
‘‘facing death row’’; 
Whereas the United States continues to have a critical na-
tional 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 interconti-
nental ballistic missile testing and space operations sup-
port’’; and 
(2) in conjunction with the other Freely Associated 
States, guarantees the United States strategic control of 
an area of the Northern Pacific Ocean between the Phil-
ippines and Hawaii that is roughly the size of the conti-
nental United States; 
Whereas a sustained commitment by the United States to the 
Freely Associated States would— 
(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 na-
tional 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 Asso-
ciation Between the United States and the Republic of 
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the Marshall Islands, done at Majuro 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 Mar-
shall 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 Free-
ly 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 
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
That Congress— 
(1) recognizes that— 
(A) the United States nuclear testing pro-
gram and radioactive waste disposal in the 
Marshall Islands caused irreparable material 
and intangible harm to the people of the Mar-
shall Islands; and 
(B) although the United States governed 
the Marshall Islands during such nuclear test-
ing program and had complete responsibility for 
the welfare of the people of the Marshall Is-
lands, the United States— 
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(i) failed to evacuate those people 
from areas contaminated by nuclear radi-
ation; 
(ii) prematurely resettled such people 
in unsafe conditions; and 
(iii) conducted medical research with-
out the consent of such people; 
(2) apologizes on behalf of the United States to 
the individuals and families of the Marshall Islands 
for the hardships they have endured as a result of 
the United States nuclear testing program and ra-
dioactive waste disposal; 
(3) commits to providing assistance to the Mar-
shall Islands and the other Freely Associated States 
to adapt to the worst effects of the climate crisis; 
(4) urges the Secretary of Energy to complete 
as soon as possible a radiochemical analysis of the 
groundwater surrounding Cactus Crater in accord-
ance with section 103(f)(1) of the Compact of Free 
Association Amendments Act of 2003 (48 U.S.C. 
1921b(f)(1)); 
(5) calls upon the Secretary of Defense and the 
Secretary of Energy to fully support the study re-
quired under section 1685 of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 
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