[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 202 Introduced in House (IH)]
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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 designate those
islands as a United Nations Trust Territory 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;
Whereas research is not conclusive due to difference in methodology and
challenges in comparison, but one study conducted 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;
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;
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
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) the historic resettlement of the
atolls occurred in conditions that carried
risks, although remediation and cleanup has
improved the conditions since that time; and
(iii) conducted medical research on
individuals 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) has committed to provide assistance to the Marshall
Islands and the other Freely Associated States (the Federated
States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau) to adapt to the
worst effects of the climate crisis which, among other
existential challenges, includes rising seas that are moving
radioactive matter outside of the Runit Dome, and should do
more in this regard;
(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) 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;
(6) affirms that the Compact of Free Association, as
amended and added to, between the United States and the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, done at Majuro on June 25,
1983 (referred to in this resolution as the ``Compact of Free
Association''), most recently in the Compact of Free
Association Amendments Act of 2024, reflected the ongoing
commitment of the United States to address problems faced by
the people of the Marshall Islands stemming from United States
nuclear weapons tests in many respects through section 206(c)
of the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2024 and
other provisions, and 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;
(7) has demonstrated commitment between the United States
Freely Associated States and the United States Government to be
the bedrock of a free and open Indo-Pacific through the Compact
of Free Association Amendments Act of 2024; and
(8) 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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