[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 73 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. J. RES. 73
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
March 1, 2022
Ms. Porter (for herself, Ms. Chu, Ms. Titus, and Mrs. Radewagen)
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 freed the islands now known as the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of
Micronesia from Japan through bloody battles during World War II;
Whereas the United States persuaded the United Nations to designate those
islands as United Nations Trust Territory and the United States as
Administering Authority of those islands pending the development of
self-government on such islands;
Whereas, in response to United Nations Security Council concerns with respect to
such administration, 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 the United States used the northern atolls of the Marshall Islands--
(1) to conduct extensive nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War;
and
(2) to dispose of radioactive waste from the Nevada Test Site;
Whereas the nuclear weapons testing program of the United States contaminated at
least 11 of the 29 atolls of the Marshall Islands;
Whereas March 1 is Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day in the Marshall Islands,
which memorializes the 67 thermonuclear tests the United States
conducted in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958 and which
produced on average approximately 1.7 times the explosive yield of the
bomb that destroyed Hiroshima every day for 12 years;
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, and the unexpected size of the blast, combined with shifting
wind conditions, led to radioactive exposure of civilians 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 individuals 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 civilian 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 Nevada Test Site that was
dumped into the Enewetak Lagoon, more than 99 percent of all plutonium
at Enewetak Atoll remains 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;
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 long argued
that compensation and assistance from the United States for personal
injuries, adverse effects 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
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 Marshall Islands is one of the countries most vulnerable to the
climate crisis;
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 Islands, stated that a
failure of developed countries to pursue bolder climate action meant
that her country was ``facing death row'';
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 Northern Pacific
Ocean between the Philippines and Hawaii that is roughly the size of the
continental 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 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 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
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 program and
radioactive waste disposal in the Marshall Islands
caused irreparable material and intangible harm to the
people of the Marshall Islands; and
(B) although the United States governed the
Marshall Islands during such nuclear testing program
and had complete responsibility for the welfare of the
people of the Marshall Islands, the United States--
(i) failed to evacuate those people from
areas contaminated by nuclear radiation;
(ii) prematurely resettled such people in
unsafe conditions; and
(iii) conducted medical research without
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 radioactive waste disposal;
(3) commits to providing assistance to the Marshall 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 accordance 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 required under section
1685 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2022 (Public Law 117-81; 135 Stat. 2125), which directs the
Public Interest Declassification Board to explore the
feasibility of the declassification of documents related to
United States nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands;
(6) commits to securing healthcare coverage for veterans of
the Armed Forces and civilian personnel who participated in the
clean up of radiological waste of former United States nuclear
test sites in the Marshall Islands;
(7) affirms that the Compact of Free Association between
the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands,
done at Majuro June 25, 1983 (referred to in this resolution as
the ``Compact of Free Association''), is the cornerstone of the
strong relationship between the Marshall Islands and the United
States, which also includes--
(A) vital contributions of the people of the
Marshall Islands in the United States;
(B) high rates of service in the Armed Forces by
citizens of the Marshall Islands; and
(C) a shared desire for a free, stable, and
prosperous Indo-Pacific region;
(8) recognizes that it is incumbent on the United States to
open dialogue regarding the nuclear legacy of the United States
in Marshall Islands during any negotiation of the Compact of
Free Association or its subsidiary agreements;
(9) welcomes the commitment of the Government of the United
States, outlined in the Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United
States, published by the White House in February 2022, to
``prioritize negotiations on our Compacts of Free Association
with the Freely Associated States as the bedrock of the U.S.
role in the Pacific'', and urges the President to appoint a
special envoy to guide the interagency process of negotiating
an extension of the Compact of Free Association; and
(10) acknowledges that nothing in this resolution--
(A) authorizes any claim against the United States;
(B) supersedes any provision of the Compact of Free
Association or its subsidiary agreements; and
(C) serves as a settlement of any claim against the
United States.
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