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Tina Cordova鈥檚 family tree is dotted with cancer diagnoses.

First it was her father, who died after a fight with three different cancers. Then Cordova and two of her three siblings. Four years ago, her then 23-year-old niece was diagnosed.

The cause? The first atomic bomb, Cordova said, which the United States War Department detonated in secret 45 miles from her father鈥檚 childhood home in the Tularosa Basin.

Despite the government鈥檚 pledge to compensate veterans, cleanup workers and civilians downwind of the nuclear fallout 鈥� Cordova is the only one of her siblings who is eligible under the current law. However, a proposed amendment to the could change that, opening the doors for more New Mexicans to claim $150,000 in financial compensation.

鈥淎fter doing this work for 21 years, I know of no one that died the day of the Trinity (test), but it was the beginning of the end for tens of thousands of people,鈥� Cordova said during a virtual news conference Tuesday, two days shy of the test鈥檚 81st anniversary.

The proposal, sponsored by Rep. James Moylan, R-Guam, the island鈥檚 delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives, would expand the list of compensable cancers and extend the application deadline from the end of next year to December 2043. Without amendment, the current RECA bill, which was reauthorized last summer as part of the 鈥淥ne Big Beautiful Bill鈥� and for the first time covered New Mexicans, will sunset at the end of 2027.

Though the government has reportedly paid out $280 million to claimants across the country so far since RECA was extended last year, Cordova said that if the current rules and deadline aren鈥檛 changed 鈥� many affected families will be excluded.

Several U.S. representatives pledged their support during Tuesday鈥檚 news conference, including New Mexico Democrat Gabe Vasquez, Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., and Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo.

Moylan said he plans to introduce the bill in the coming days, bringing it before the House of Representatives later this summer.

鈥淚t's past time that the government took responsibility for the harm that it's wrought on our downwinder communities all across the nation, not just in New Mexico,鈥� Vasquez said. 鈥淎nd this bill and this 15-year filing extension are a major step in the right direction.鈥�

The proposed bill would expand eligibility to downwinders in Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Guam, alongside established states like New Mexico. It will also expand to include military personnel who did atomic cleanup for nuclear testing on islands in the Pacific and Palomares, Spain, where four nuclear bombs were accidentally during the Cold War.

In 1966, two of the four dropped hydrogen bombs detonated in the small Spanish farming village of Palomares after U.S. military aircraft collided during mid-air refueling. The incident triggered a massive cleanup effort that exposed both Spanish civilians and American military personnel to radiation.

Though the amended bill will cover more Americans stationed and living across the world, it will also expand coverage for New Mexicans.

First, the amendment would allow affidavits, or sworn statements, as proof of residency, making filing possible for those who lived in rural areas or reservations where decades-old records may be difficult or impossible to locate, Vasquez said.

Moreover, the proposal will extend the exposure timeline from 1962 to 1992. If passed, civilians exposed to radiation from 1944 up until 1992 who were later diagnosed with certain cancers can apply for compensation.

The proposal also adds cancers and diseases that were previously excluded, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, renal disease, renal cancer, thyroid disease, bone cancer, uterine cancer, cervical cancer, skin cancer and thyroid cancer.

These two amendments in particular hit home for Cordova. Both of her siblings, one of whom was born after the 1962 deadline, were diagnosed with cancers that aren鈥檛 currently covered by RECA.

If passed, her siblings will be able to apply for compensation for the first time.

Though the amendment would be expensive, Cordova said that no amount of money will bring people back from the dead.

鈥淔or those of us who have been affected, who bury our loved ones on a regular basis, there's no amount of compensation that can ever amount to what we've suffered and sacrificed in the name of national security,鈥� Cordova said. 鈥淪o, if we're going to continue to dedicate trillions of dollars to the (defense) programs in our country, at the very least, we can dedicate billions of dollars to taking care of the American citizens who were unwittingly exposed to radiation.鈥�

Gillian Barkhurst is a general assignment reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.