Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., introduced the Providing Radiation Exposed Servicemembers Undisputed Medical Eligibility, or PRESUME, Act, on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, as the world marks 80 years since the first atomic bomb was detonated in the New Mexico desert. The legislation is intended to streamline benefits for those military veterans exposed to radiation while supporting nuclear programs or working on cleanups. (Illustration by Noga Ami-rav/Stars and Stripes)
As the world marks 80 years since the first atomic bomb was detonated in the New Mexico desert, a Nevada congresswoman introduced new legislation Wednesday intended to streamline benefits for those military veterans exposed to radiation while supporting nuclear programs or working on cleanups.
Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., introduced the Providing Radiation Exposed Servicemembers Undisputed Medical Eligibility, or PRESUME, Act, her office announced. The bill would force the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide veterans exposed to nuclear radiation in service — known as atomic veterans — with “presumptive benefits” for toxic radiation without having to provide specific evidence of their exposure, Titus said.
Under current policy, the VA requires veterans to provide proof of on-site participation, and a radiation dose estimate from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which she said were “historically … unreliable.” Titus argues military veterans should receive benefits and compensation for toxic exposure just as their civilian counterparts exposed accidentally to nuclear radiation do under the recently expanded Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA.
“Our atomic veterans should be treated the same way as civilians exposed to atomic radiation,” Titus said in a statement. “They have been wrongfully subjected to a double standard and have not received the care they deserve for treatment of cancer and pulmonary diseases. The PRESUME Act would fix this.”
The new legislation was backed by several groups who advocate for atomic veterans, including the National Association of Atomic Veterans.
Keith Kiefer, the nonprofit association’s national commander, said Titus’ bill was a key step in the right direction to provide critical benefits to those who participated in nuclear activities — especially those who cannot prove their exposure levels.
“The legacy of nuclear tests is riddled with veterans not having proper personal protective equipment and/or failure of monitoring radiation levels,” said Kiefer, an Air Force veteran who participated in nuclear debris cleanup in 1978 at Eniwetok Atoll, a string of islands in the Pacific Ocean where the military dropped more than 40 nuclear bombs in tests after World War II. “Few of the veterans were issued radiation badges and of those that had them, there were high failure rates due to environmental factors. … Requiring a veteran to prove the level of exposure places an unreasonable burden of proof upon them.”
Kiefer believes he was exposed to radioactive waste as he dug up and repaired damaged underground communications cables.
He later learned he was sterile after returning home from Eniwetok when he and his wife tried to start a family. He also was diagnosed with a thyroid condition after his military service. His health problems continued, and he was diagnosed with degenerative bone disease and a blood-clotting disorder that caused embolisms in his lungs.
Titus’ new legislation comes on Wednesday, which has been recognized since 1983 as National Atomic Veterans’ Day, an effort spearheaded by then-President Ronald Reagan to represent the sacrifices of troops associated with the U.S. military’s nuclear program.
From the secret Manhattan Project’s July 16, 1945, Trinity test at Alamogordo, N.M., until the last test of the Julin nuclear test series at the Nevada Test Site on Sept. 23, 1992, the United States detonated more than 1,000 nuclear bombs, according to National Association of Atomic Veterans.
Kiefer wrote in an opinion piece this week that Congress has treated veterans exposed to radiation in nuclear tests differently than the thousands exposed during cleanup operations, like him. He urged Congress to expand the RECA to allow cleanup atomic veterans to seek compensation for radiation exposure.
“Help for cleanup veterans is currently limited to the VA, despite its history of failing atomic veterans,” he wrote. “… RECA offers fewer benefits than the VA, but is much simpler to navigate, and I have seen firsthand how much it has helped my fellow atomic veterans.”
He wrote veterans often spend 10 to 14 years petitioning the VA for compensation.
“The speed with which veterans can get help through RECA is critical,” he wrote. “I served in Eniwetok in 1978, nearly 50 years ago. Many of us do not have 10 to 14 years to wait for the VA to approve our claim.”
Titus said her bill would break through “bureaucratic barriers” to ensure all atomic veterans can be compensated by the VA.
“Our country’s atomic veterans helped win the peace during the Cold War, and they must be able to access the highest standard of care available,” the congresswoman said.
