Editorial: Don’t waste time on illness package

Tuesday, May 23, 2000 | 9:47 a.m.

Sadly, prospects are dimming that legislation will be passed this year that would compensate nuclear weapons workers for their work-related illnesses. A dispute over which agency should fund the compensation program, the Department of Energy or the Department of Defense, has stalled the $520 million package, which also would include compensation for Nevada Test Site workers.

The issue also has produced a split among Nevada's two House members, as Democrat Shelley Berkley criticized a nonbinding resolution passed by the House -- supported by Nevada Republican Jim Gibbons -- that only urged Congress to address the issue. The bottom line is that Congress should pass the compensation program this year; waiting until next year simply is unacceptable. The public -- and especially the nuclear weapons workers who are severely ill and need help -- don't give a whit as to which agency pays, they just want to see it done.

archive