Texas City workers exposed to radiation may get compensation (WH stalls)

[seafan]

Texas City workers exposed to radiation may get compensation

By Mark Greenblatt / 11 News
July 21, 2006



KHOU-TV

Some local workers exposed to radiation and never told are now struggling to get medical care they need.

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The workers 11 News reported on in Texas City are mostly dead or dying of cancer. All because they reportedly did not receive compensation in a program they were excluded from.
Thursday, U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee of Houston went to Congress in Washington, D.C. and tried to help them out.
What began as a Cold War secret and frustration from victims in Texas City turned into action Thursday in the nation’s capitol.
“Promises have been broken and promises now need to be kept,” said U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee.
The lawmaker aired the concerns of Texas City victims at an oversight hearing in Washington.

“Channel 11 KHOU interviewed hundreds of workers who seemingly had been forgotten. I discovered that brave Americans were not being protected by the American government,” said Jackson-Lee.
During the Cold War tens of thousands of workers were unknowingly enlisted in a secret federal program.
The workers, like those in Texas City, were told they were working around simple fertilizer. When in reality, they were dealing with radioactive uranium to help build bombs.
But 11 News discovered a gaping loophole in the government’s new compensation program, which prevents thousands of victims from around the country from ever seeing a dime, including most of the workers from Texas City Chemicals.

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Congressman John Hostetler chaired the hearing. He’s trying to find out why more victims aren’t getting paid faster.
“Until significant steps are taken to clarify the administration’s position, a cloud will remain over this program and those implementing it,” said Hostetler.

What’s he talking about?
A memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget outlined a five-point plan to contain growth or limit compensation for victims.
“There’s been a great deal of confusion about what’s going on here,” said Austin Smythe who appeared in Washington to defend the administration as the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
“A misunderstanding that we’re trying to clarify,” he said.
While he said the White House eventually backed away from suggestions in that memo, it’s a subject Smythe’s office has refused to talk about time and again when 11 News asked for comment.

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[ThomCat]

1. That seems standard for the US.

Poison our own people with tests for the military, and then deny, stonewall, and refuse to pay.
The US government mostly just doesn't seem to think lives are important (except certain lives). It's perfectly acceptable for people to suffer and die.
:grr: