AMAC and NAAV Support PRESUME Act

This bill prohibits the requirement to have evidence of a certain dose of radiation in an Atomic Veteran’s service history to qualify for benefits related to radiation exposure; thus, ensuring the presumptive element of their illnesses is represented and respected in their application for needed health benefits.

October 13, 2023

The Honorable Dina Titus
1st Congressional District of Nevada
2464 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Titus,

On behalf of the over 2.1 million members of AMAC – Association of Mature American Citizens and the National Association of Atomic Veterans (NAAV), we write to offer our support for H.R. 4566, the “Providing Radiation Exposed Servicemembers Undisputed Medical Eligibility (PRESUME) Act.”

As part of their ordered service to our country, and in support of our national defense, thousands of Veterans were exposed to ionization radiation between the 1950s to the 1990s as part of nuclear testing and/or cleanup programs. This cohort of service members are known collectively as “Atomic Veterans.” These Veterans, when making a claim of a service-connected disability post-radiation exposure, often have physical health, mental health, and/or financial conditions that make submitting a claim an insurmountable burden. This unjustified burden is further exacerbated by the failure of accurate exposure monitoring; incomplete, inaccurate records, and few epidemiologists and doctors that understand ionization exposure and associated diseases that would more clearly justify their claims. Further, where radiation levels were measured, only external X-ray and/or Gamma radiation measurements were recorded. There are no recorded data on internal or external harmful alpha or beta radiation exposures.

The presumption claim process, in theory, supposes that if a Veteran was in a location where they were likely exposed to ionization radiation and they contracted a disease on the presumption list of possible related maladies, it is then presumed that the disease was a result of that exposure. However, in practice, additional burdens are being inappropriately placed on the Veteran to meet the artificially imposed exposure threshold and timeframe. Studies have shown that it can take four, five even six decades before the DNA damage manifests into a presumptive diagnosable disease directly caused by their exposure.

A model of single subject simplicity, this bill prohibits the requirement to have evidence of a certain dose of radiation in an Atomic Veteran’s service history to qualify for benefits related to radiation exposure; thus, ensuring the presumptive element of their illnesses is represented, and respected, in their application for needed health benefits.

AMAC and the National Association of Atomic Veterans thank you, Representative Titus, and your cosponsors, for your efforts to care for our American Atomic Veterans. We are pleased to offer our organizations’ full support for H.R. 4566, the PRESUME Act.

Sincerely, 

Bob Carlstrom
President
AMAC Action

Keith Kiefer
National Commander
National Association of Atomic Veterans