Bill introduced to help veterans exposed to radiation at secret base
For the first time, a federal law could ensure veterans exposed to radiation at a secret base in Nevada would receive benefits to treat their illnesses.
Some of these veterans live in the Chicago area, and many are scattered around the country suffering from debilitating illnesses.
The bipartisan legislation, HR9511, was introduced Tuesday, Sept. 10. Also referred to as the PROTECT Act, it acknowledges that some veterans – specifically those who performed military, naval, air or space service at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) – were exposed to radiation and other toxins.
Earlier this year, CBS News Chicago tracked down some of them, including Mark Ely, of Naperville, and Dave Crete, of Las Vegas. The reporting uncovered how their confidential work with the Department of Defense (DOD) in the 1980s left them with lipomas, tumors, and lung and kidney diseases, among other illnesses.
"You're breathing in radioactive dust, and that breathing in radioactive dust is also what causes most of the other problems that people have and develop, like all the cancers that we see – and that's what you were exposed to at that base," Crete said. "We drank it. Our food was cooked in it. We showered in water that was contaminated."
But Crete and Ely said because their work was secret, the federal government wouldn't acknowledge the service of those stationed at that specific classified site. Veterans like them have been fighting for decades to prove they worked there and that their work made them sick.
For that reason, they have struggled to get medical compensation like other veterans can.
In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act, which compensates current or former Department of Energy employees for similar illnesses and exposures, including those who were stationed at Tonopah specifically.
As of May, the government paid out $25.7 billion in claims to more than 141,000 Department of Energy workers since the bill went into effect in 2001, according to statistics from the Department of Labor. But Department of Defense workers, like Ely and Crete, aren't covered under that bill.
The new bill, sponsored by Congressman Mark Amodei (R-Nevada), would change that for veterans who served at NTTR beginning in 1972.
"I'm so happy to see our years of hard work are starting to pay off," Crete said in a news release Monday. "This bill will help thousands of veterans, civilian DOD employees and their families to finally receive benefits, care and justice that's decades overdue."
While there is no public, comprehensive list of people who've worked at Tonopah, Crete spent the last eight years using Facebook and Air Force reunions to find other veterans with similar illnesses, including family members of those who've died from their diseases.
Crete shared a database he created with CBS News Chicago, which lists hundreds of people who he says worked at Tonopah and have similar illnesses. He has made that the genesis of his non-profit advocacy group called the Invisible Enemy to bring awareness to their fight. Crete used his research over the years to push for the legislation that was recently introduced. Through that process, he connected with Amodei.
"A quick look at the facts shows that this group of veterans were in serious need of additional support as a result of their service," Amodei said in a news release. "As with every veteran, those serving at NTTR during the determined time frame are entitled to care for illness and injury sustained in the line of service to our nation. I'm glad to lead the charge on this and will continue to push until this change is actualized."
The bill was introduced in House and referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. The bill will need to first pass House and then Senate before becoming law.
