December 18, 2025
Ms. Tokuda (for herself, Mr. Case, Ms. Titus, and Mr. Horsford) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
To establish the Atomic Civilians Commemorative Service Medal, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Atomic Civilians Recognition and Compensation Act
.
Sec. 2. Establishment of the Atomic Civilians Commemorative Service Medal
(a) In general
The Secretary of Defense shall design and produce a commemorative service medal, to be known as the Atomic Civilians Commemorative Service Medal
(in this section referred to as the Medal
), to commemorate the service and sacrifice of civilian employees and contractors of the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies who were instrumental in the development of our Nation’s atomic and nuclear weapons programs.
(b) Eligibility requirements
(1) Eligibility
Current or former civilian employees, and former employees of any contractor, of the United States Government shall be eligible for the Medal if such individual—
(A)
directly participated in the detonation of an atomic weapon or device;
(B)
directly participated in the cleanup of radioactive material resulting from any such atmospheric detonation;
(C)
directly participated in the cleanup of radioactive material resulting from an accident associated with an atomic weapon; or
(D)
was exposed to ionizing radiation resulting from the operational use of atomic weapons during World War II.
(2) Documentation
The Secretary of Defense may require individuals to submit supporting documentation for the medal authorized in subsection (a) to determine eligibility under paragraph (1).
(c) Distribution of medal
(1) Issuance to retired and former civilian employees
At the request of an eligible individual described under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary of Defense shall issue the Medal to such individual.
(2) Issuance to next-of-kin
In the case of am individual who is deceased but would otherwise be eligible for the Medal, the Secretary may provide for issuance of the Medal to the next-of-kin of such individual. If applications for a Medal are filed by more than one next of kin of such an individual, the Secretary of Defense shall determine which next-of-kin will receive the Medal.
(3) Application
The Secretary shall prepare and disseminate as appropriate an application by which eligible individuals and their next-of-kin may apply to receive the Medal.
Sec. 3. Establishment of program of compensation for atomic civilians
(a) Compensation program
The Secretary of Defense shall establish a program of compensation for individuals who directly participated in the cleanup of radioactive material, subject to the requirements of this section.
(b) Eligibility
(1) Eligibility
Subject to the availability of appropriations, a current or former civilian employee or a current or former employee of a contractor of the United States Government—
(A)
who directly participated in the cleanup of radioactive material resulting from any such atmospheric detonation or directly participated in the cleanup of radioactive material resulting from an accident associated with an atomic weapon; and
(B)
who was diagnosed with a disease described in paragraph (2)
shall be eligible for an award of $75,000 under the program established by subsection (a).
(2) Diseases
A disease described in this paragraph is any of the following:
(A)
Leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia).
(B)
Cancer of the thyroid.
(C)
Cancer of the breast.
(D)
Cancer of the pharynx.
(E)
Cancer of the esophagus.
(F)
Cancer of the stomach.
(G)
Cancer of the small intestine.
(H)
Cancer of the pancreas.
(I)
Multiple myeloma.
(J)
Lymphomas (except Hodgkin’s disease).
(K)
Cancer of the bile ducts.
(L)
Cancer of the gall bladder.
(M)
Primary liver cancer (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated).
(N)
Cancer of the salivary gland.
(O)
Cancer of the urinary tract.
(P)
Bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma.
(Q)
Cancer of the bone.
(R)
Cancer of the brain.
(S)
Cancer of the colon.
(T)
Cancer of the lung.
(U)
Cancer of the ovary.
(c) Requirements
Before paying any award under this section to an individual, the Secretary of Defense shall—
(1)
require the individual to submit supporting documentation to determine eligibility for compensation under the program established under this section; and
(2)
prepare and disseminate as appropriate an application by which current and former civilian employees and current and former contractors may apply to receive compensation.
(d) Offset
The Secretary of Defense shall offset the amount of any award under this section by subtracting from such award the amount of any payment made to an otherwise eligible individual under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.