(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced a bipartisan resolution designating October 30, 2021 as a national day of remembrance for nuclear weapons workers. The resolution is supported by Cold War Patriots, the primary membership organization providing recognition and resources to the nuclear weapons and uranium worker community.
“We owe a debt of gratitude to the nuclear weapons program workers across this country—in particular the workers at the Hanford site in my home state of Washington—who have sacrificed so much for our country since World War II. That’s why I’m proud to introduce this resolution commemorating October 30th as a day to honor and recognize their brave contributions to our nation,” Senator Murray said. “As a voice in the Senate for our nation’s nuclear weapons workers, I won’t stop fighting until those at Hanford and similar sites receive the support, compensation, and recognition they deserve for all the work they’ve done over the past eight-plus decades.”
The Nuclear Weapons Workers Day of Remembrance Resolution:
- Honors the hundreds of thousands of patriotic men and women, including uranium miners, millers, and haulers that have served the United States by building nuclear weapons for the defense of the United States since World War II;
- Recognizes the contributions, services, and sacrifices that those patriotic women and men made for the defense of the United States;
- Designates October 30, 2021, as a national day of remembrance for the workers of the nuclear weapons program of the United States, including uranium miners, millers, and haulers; and
- Encourages the people of the United States to support and participate in appropriate ceremonies, programs, and other activities to commemorate October 30, 2021, as a national day of remembrance for past and present workers of the nuclear weapons program of the United States.
Since 2009, on October 30th of each year, the Senate has recognized the contributions, services, and sacrifices that the workers of the nuclear weapons program made for the defense of the United States.
Senator Murray has long worked to make sure the federal government honors its moral and legal obligation to Hanford clean-up, including fighting repeatedly against efforts to slash or cut federal funding for the vital Department of Energy (DOE) project and advocating on at the federal level on separate occasions to help ensure Hanford workers receive sick leave back pay and regular pay during work-stop periods due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, Senator Murray reintroduced her Toxic Exposure Safety Act—legislation in the Senate that will ensure cleanup workers at the Hanford Nuclear Site and other DOE environmental management sites can more easily claim worker’s compensation benefits when they suffer from certain medical conditions as a result of exposure to toxic substances.
The resolution is cosponsored by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bill Hagerty (D-TN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chuck Grassley (R-IA).