Political Quotes

On the recordMarch 6, 2024
This weekend, Oppenheimer is expected to win multiple Oscars. In the film, we watched the pain and guilt in J.R. Oppenheimer's face when he heard what the atomic bomb did to the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What the film didn't show--and the story that remains untold--is how thousands of New Mexican families were exposed to harmful amounts of radiation. We didn't see how radioactive ash rained down on children, families, and farms from that first atomic bomb tested in New Mexico. We didn't see the tears and pain as those families saw their loved ones die of cancers and rare diseases tied to radiation exposure. So I present this film one more award: the award for the most incomplete story--for the missing, the countless American lives lost as a result of the Trinity test. Congress can write a better ending to this story. A bipartisan coalition of Senators and Representatives have amendments to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which would finally compensate New Mexico downwinders and uranium workers, as well as workers in Missouri, Alaska, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and downwinders in other States who were left out of that original Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Earlier this year, these amendments were included in the NDAA as passed by the Senate. Sadly, Republican leadership for some inexplicable reason stripped these amendments from the final NDAA. But today, soon, Congress can write a happier ending.…
Said by
Teresa Leger Fernandez
Democratic · New Mexico

Share

More from Teresa Leger Fernandez

May 12, 2026

The vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democratic society.

congress.gov
Sep 10, 2024

I thank Ranking Member McGovern for pointing out what we heard last night. This is all political theater. That is what we heard last night. That is what we are hearing on the floor today, but is that what I heard when I was in New Mexico…

govinfo.gov
Mar 11, 2025

Americans across the country are angry about Elon Musk illegally firing employees and freezing Federal funds. Rather than stand up to Musk, Republicans are giving him the power to shut down the government programs Musk doesn't like…

govinfo.gov
Dec 10, 2024

I thank the gentleman and my colleague from Rules (Mr. Austin Scott) for the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, families all across the United States want Congress to help lower the cost of…

govinfo.gov

Other voices in this conversation