{"id":15944,"date":"2025-07-09T15:19:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rosen.senate.gov\/?p=15944"},"modified":"2025-07-09T15:19:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:19:15","slug":"rosen-cortez-masto-introduce-bill-to-support-veterans-exposed-to-radiation-and-toxins-while-serving-in-nevada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rosen.senate.gov\/es\/2025\/07\/09\/rosen-cortez-masto-introduce-bill-to-support-veterans-exposed-to-radiation-and-toxins-while-serving-in-nevada\/","title":{"rendered":"Rosen, Cortez Masto Introduce Bill to Support Veterans Exposed to Radiation and Toxins While Serving in Nevada"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON DC<\/strong> \u2013 U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced a bill to ensure servicemembers and veterans who served at classified locations within the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) since 1951 are able to prove that they served there, and can finally get the PACT Act<\/em> benefits they deserve following exposure to radiation and toxins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the 1950s through the 1990s, the NTTR – and the Nevada Test Site contained within it – conducted over 900 explosive nuclear weapons tests and other dangerous, toxic activities. Currently, due to issues with the classified nature of their location while serving, veterans who served at the NTTR are unable to prove their service there to the VA and, therefore, are unable to receive care and benefits connected with exposure to radiation and toxins from burn pits. The Fighting for the Overlooked Recognition of Groups Operating in Toxic Test Environments in Nevada (FORGOTTEN) Veterans Act <\/em>would help to correct a historic wrong and inequity by officially recognizing the risk that veterans assumed during their service at the NTTR, and other Department of Energy (DOE) Covered Facilities, where DOE employees are already automatically presumed to have been exposed, while the servicemembers who served alongside them are not. Senator Rosen also worked to secure commitments<\/a> from multiple high-ranking military officials to address this care gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVeterans have been exposed to radiation and toxic chemicals as a result of their selfless service to our nation, and the least we can do is ensure they get the treatment they need,\u201d dijo el Senador Rosen. <\/strong>\u201cI\u2019m introducing this bill to recognize the radiation and toxic exposure experienced at the Nevada Test and Training Range so our veterans can access the care and benefits they deserve. It is unconscionable that one U.S. government agency deems portions of the range as contaminated and their personnel exposed, while another U.S. government agency does not. I\u2019ll continue working to make sure we take care of our veterans and their loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a nation, it is our obligation to take care of all veterans once their service has ended,\u201d said Senator Cortez Masto. <\/strong>\u201cThis is especially true for veterans of the Nevada Test and Training Range, who faced toxic exposure daily as part of their duties and should have parity with their civilian counterparts. I will continue to push for these brave men and women to receive the care and benefits they\u2019re due.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, after decades of denial by our own government, the veterans who were exposed to toxic radiation and materials on the Nevada Test and Training Range are closer than ever to getting the recognition and benefits they\u2019ve earned,\u201d said Dave Crete, Chairman of The Invisible Enemy, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting veterans who have experienced toxic exposure at the Nevada Test and Training Range. <\/strong>\u201cWe thank Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto for making the FORGOTTEN Veterans Act a legislative priority in the U.S. Senate, and all of our allies in Congress who are dedicated to righting this wrong, and securing justice for the brave men and women who risked their lives and lost their lives fighting this invisible enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FORGOTTEN Veterans Act<\/em> would: <\/p>\n\n\n\n