September 24 – More than five hours remained before the group reached Washington, D.C.
But, Loretta Anderson said, some of the women on the bus were already eager to dance.
Anderson, a native of Laguna Pueblo, was one of about 30 people who biked across the country Monday afternoon to advocate for reauthorization of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a 1990 federal program that provides compensation and health care to uranium miners, people on site during nuclear weapons tests and people who live downwind of test sites.
Only parts of Arizona, Nevada and Utah were eligible for compensation under the law. Advocates have pushed for years to include New Mexico residents, including those who suffered fallout from the first detonation of a nuclear weapon at Trinity Site. An effort to extend the law to New Mexico residents was successfully voted on in the Senate earlier this year, but the House of Representatives let the program lapse in June.
“Our community is in mourning,” Anderson said. “We don’t know what to do anymore.”
So the New Mexico advocates hit the road.
There are more “RECA fighters” now than ever before, Anderson said, and they’re not going away.
The group planned to protest, sing and dance over the next few days — bringing “strength, prayer, song and light,” Anderson said — to call for a vote in favor of reintroducing and expanding the legislation.
By Monday afternoon, Anderson and the others had been on the road for more than 24 hours.
“Where are we now?” she shouted.
Virginia was the answer.
New Mexico’s congressional delegation on Tuesday pressured House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring the RECA bill to a vote.
“We are fighting for justice — not just for those in New Mexico, but across the country who have been affected by radiation exposure, nuclear weapons testing, and uranium mining,” Sen. Ben Ray Luján said in a statement after a news conference Tuesday in Washington. “The broad bipartisan support in the Senate makes it clear that passing RECA is a bipartisan priority. That’s why I’m calling on Speaker Johnson to take action now to ensure these victims receive the compensation they deserve.”
Phil Harrison of Rio Rancho was one of the speakers at the press conference.
Harrison told The New Mexican that he started working in a uranium mine in Gateway, Colorado, at age 18. He was still in high school, but like many others in the area, he picked up a shovel.
“Everyone went to work to support their families,” Harrison said.
His father, also a miner, was diagnosed with lung cancer in the 1970s. Years later, Harrison himself developed kidney problems. He said he was never educated about the risks.
Dozens of people marched Tuesday, Harrison said, joined by several lawmakers.
“You never turn down a Navajo when they say ‘t’aa shoodii’ [please]”, Harrison said. “This march was for that. I hope they heard us.”
The road to D.C. was full of sacrifices, Anderson said; elderly people who rode the bus suffered from swollen legs from the long hours. She hopes the House of Representatives will support the legislation.
“It’s been a long, long ride. We have some soldiers here, some people who are so determined to get to D.C. and tell their stories. … This is where their heart is,” Anderson said. “They haven’t complained.”
Anderson’s parents both worked in uranium mines. Her father died of cancer in 2020; her mother died in 2022.
“While I was sitting on the bus, I looked up [and thinking,] “Dad, are you proud of me?” Anderson said. “I know I am.”
