Downwinder Commemoration Act of 2025

H.R. 4290, the Downwinder Commemoration Act of 2025, would authorize three honorific plaques to memorialize the Downwinders—communities in New Mexico adversely affected by radioactive fallout from the first atomic bomb test in 1945. The Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the Secretary of the Interior would, within one year of enactment, obtain three plaques and place them at publicly accessible sites: one at White Sands Missile Range, one at Holloman Air Force Base, and one at White Sands National Park. The placement would occur after consultation with other agency heads as the Secretaries deem appropriate. The bill establishes a ceremonial recognition of health harms experienced by Downwinder communities (e.g., cancer and infertility) but does not specify funding or penalties. It creates a commemorative obligation spanning three federal departments and three NM locations, grounding the effort in a formal finding and a concrete placement plan.