Today, Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-CA) introduced a resolution to formally apologize for the United States’ nuclear legacy in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The resolution, which is co-led by Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS), affirms the importance of free association between the U.S. and the Marshall Islands, commits to assisting with some of the worst lasting harms of radioactivity, and presses for a complete radiochemical analysis of the area.

“The United States used the Marshallese people as guinea pigs and contaminated their sacred ancestral lands, and we’ve still not taken responsibility generations later,” Congresswoman Porter said. “I’m proud to represent one of the largest Marshallese communities in the country, but the reason many of them came to Orange County in the first place represents a dark part of our history. The Marshallese people deserve no less than a formal apology—and a commitment to action that rights our historic wrongs.”

“The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a close friend to the United States, and dear to my heart from my time there in my youth,” said Congresswoman Amata. “Former President Amata Kabua was close to my father and like an uncle to me.  His mother, Dorothy, named my sister. The U.S. settled known legal claims in 1986, but we’ve learned much more of the human needs and harm to the Marshallese and their island homeland. When my father was administrator there appointed by President John F. Kennedy, he saw the great damage personally from 67 still recent nuclear tests at the time. I believe this Resolution can only enhance the sense of a deep U.S. commitment to the Pacific region and our strategic partnerships.”

The United States conducted 67 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands from 1946 to 1958 while the U.S. was responsible for the welfare of the Marshallese people. These tests had an explosive yield equivalent to roughly 1.7 Hiroshima-sized bombs every day for 12 years. The most powerful test took place on March 1, 1954, when the United States detonated a hydrogen bomb over Bikini Atoll. The damage and displacement from these tests in part drove Marshallese migration to the United States, including to Orange County. 

Residents of the Marshall Islands continue to suffer the long-lasting consequences of U.S. nuclear testing, including rising sea levels that are shifting radioactive contaminants outside of the Runit Dome. 

As a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congresswoman Porter has been a leading voice for Pacific Islanders and delivering justice for the Marshallese people. She fought for the appointment of a presidential envoy to lead talks to extend the Compacts of Free Association, which were bogged down for more than a year, in part due to the legacy of U.S. nuclear testing. Last year, Rep. Porter joined the House Natural Resources Committee’s Indo-Pacific Task Force, where she helped improve and renew the Compacts. She also previously secured legislative language for the Department of Energy to increase radiological monitoring in the Marshall Islands. In 2021, she announced $500,000 in federal funding for Marshallese Youth of Orange County (MYOC) to support first-generation Marshallese Americans. 

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