We appreciate all that you have done for Civitas, and would like to know if you would care to continue on our Resource Team.
You are one of many individuals who provided special knowledge, insight, critical thinking and compassion for fifteen Civitas summer interns. Civitas staff has started a newsletter for the interns in which we, and they, update one another on developments relating to issues we covered in this July. Most of the sources of our information were individuals like yourself and the twenty-two other adults upon whom we called to present over a two-week period.
On our eighth day, we traveled to Maryland Heights to meet with Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel of JustMomsSTL. For over a decade, they have been working to try to bring some relief to the families and their neighbors from the radioactive materials that somehow got stored in North County rather than a less populated area.
Last week JustMomsSTL had a terrific win as a bill to provide remediation and reparations for the impacted families passed the U.S. Senate. It is not yet a law, but it is a big start.
Loose radioactivity is our topic in this issue. We'll continue with many of the subjects upon which you touched. If you have a link to an article or a media source that you think would be of interest to the interns, please e-mail it to info@civitas-stl.com.
Again, we appreciate all that you have done for the students. If you would like to continue to receive these newsletters and to be a resource for our students, please click on the button below.
Last Friday, July 28, the United States Senate passed a measure that provides relief for residents in Missouri and elsewhere from radioactive exposures that began with the Manhattan Project in the 1940s. This is a big victory for many citizens in the St. Louis area, and especially for JustMomsSTL, led by Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel.
Dawn Chapman of JustMomsSTL talks with Civitas interns while traveling through North STL County
Passage of the bill required 60 votes in the U.S. Senate, and it cleared the upper chamber by a vote of 61-37. It is probably fair to say that the bill would not have passed the Senate without the work of Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley.
For the bill to now become law, it must pass the House of Representatives and then be signed by President Joe Biden. The House returns to DC in September after the August recess, and it is unclear what action it might take on the bill.
The 61-37 vote in the Senate is both bi-partisan, and very interesting. While the measure was sponsored by Republican Hawley, all Democrats voted for it, except West Virginia's Joe Manchin. We are not quite sure why he voted no. Here is a graphic look at the vote.
On the Republican side, twelve voted yes, almost all representing the handful of states that will receive money for radiation remediation or buyouts. We thank Senator Hawley, also Senator Schmitt from Missouri and the ten other Republicans who voted for the measure. But let's all keep in mind that the vote is truly a reflection of how voting in Congress works. Karen Nickel of JustMomsSTL narrates for Civitas interns as they tour close to the toxic Cold Water Creek
