Manhattan Project

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said concerns about cost killed earlier efforts to renew a program for people exposed to radioactive waste. Hawley hopes a new compromise with a lower mandatory spending price tag will finally break through.

Lawmakers formed a new committee to document the effects of radioactive waste in the St. Louis region and other Missouri sites and to search for policy solutions.

The committee, established to hear testimony on the issue and recommend legislation, will meet Oct. 15.

Venice, Madison and Granite City have ties to World War II-era production of radioactive materials used by the U.S. Atomic Weapons Commission — just like St. Louis and St. Charles counties in Missouri.

An amendment to the annual defense spending bill fell along party lines in the House Rules Committee. The legislation would have added Missouri ZIP codes to the RECA program.

Veterans who helped test nuclear weapons are fighting to renew a 34-year-old law meant to help compensate for the long-term health effects of their work.

Superfund sites contain extreme pollution. Flooding — made worse by climate change — could carry toxic contaminants into surrounding areas.

If Congress does not pass the funding, it will expire in June. It does not currently include the St. Louis region, but would in a version passed by the Senate.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said the House needs to stop “screwing around” and pass his bill expanding the program to the St. Louis area.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act cleared its first major legislative hurdle on Thursday. It would provide compensation to sick St. Louisans living in areas with radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project.