Signs marked with, “Justice for radiation survivors!” and “We need health care for radiation survivors!” were held in the Guam Congress hall late Tuesday afternoon.

Participants came out to speak in support of Resolution-171.

It’s a push for Senate and Congress leaders in Washington DC .

The bi-partisan resolution expressed support for an amendment of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) calling for the People of Guam to be included as downwinders of U.S. pacific nuclear test sites.

Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors (PARS) President Robert Celestial also spoke in support of the resolution.

Celestial said, “The People of Guam were exposed to nuclear fallout from the Pacific nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands from 1946 to 1962. When 66 nuclear and hydrogen bombs were detonated, it was without their knowledge and consent.”

The resolution also called for an extension to the claims period and for improvement of the compensation and benefits in the act.

Military and Government of Guam retiree Enrique Torres was among several who testified before senators.

“When the tests were happening in the Marshall Islands, the military was told to stay in your homes. What warnings were given to the local civilians? No. We were farming and continued with our daily lives, not knowing that maybe the vegetables we were harvesting and fish we were consuming and anything related to this nuclear fallout…Now we are dealing with the consequences of sicknesses and illnesses. If you know the shelf life of radioactivity, I'm going to say it’s maybe millions of years,” said Torres.

Last summer, the U.S. Senate passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 to extend coverage to Guam residents under RECA.

That amendment compensated individuals from Guam who were exposed to radiation and subsequently developed specified cancers due to the fallout from the atomic and hydrogen bomb testing by the U.S. in the Marshall Islands between 1946 to 1962.

Officials said RECA will sunset if Congress does not take action before July of this year.