Editorial: Forget a dose of compassion

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2000 | 10:08 a.m.

Bullheaded opposition from the Republican House leadership likely has dashed any hope this year to create a compensation package that would have helped thousands of workers who became ill from working at nuclear-weapons plants, including those who once worked at the Nevada Test Site. On Monday even Senate Republicans grew disgusted with the intransigence by their Republican colleagues in the House. So senators ended negotiations after the Republican House leadership refused to establish a permanent compensation fund, which would have allowed eligible workers to receive $200,000 and medical care.

Typically, when disputes among members of the same party arise -- especially when there is just two months before a general election -- legislators downplay their differences. Considering that the Republicans' margin in the House is so precarious, and feasibly could fall into the hands of Democrats if just a few Republican incumbents lose, there is even more incentive for Senate Republicans to bite their tongues.

That's why it was so refreshing to see the candor of Sen. Fred Thompson, a Tennessee Republican. Thompson's home state includes the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, some of whose former workers would have been compensated under the plan. "Unfortunately the House leadership refused to even consider this issue," Thompson told Gannett News Service. "They never put a serious offer on the table. They apparently don't agree with us that people who are sick as result of their service to our country deserve help." This rebuke and others like it apparently stung -- GOP House leaders said late Tuesday they want to revive talks.

In the wake of being portrayed as mean-spirited when the Republican-controlled House was under Newt Gingrich's helm, House Speaker Dennis Hastert has tried to project a warm and fuzzy image. Nevadans, however, already have witnessed firsthand what a ruse this has been, as Hastert has tried mightily to send high-level nuclear waste to Nevada. Now Hastert has shown what little sympathy he has for nuclear-plant workers -- some even died as a result of their job-related illnesses -- and how much he will cater to budget hawks who opposed the compensation plan. The federal government lied to these workers for decades, refusing to acknowledge that their illnesses were tied to exposure from radiation, beryllium or silica. What a travesty it is, then, to derail this thoughtful compensation plan.