ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — It's a fight for federal compensation.
A St. Louis advocacy group will soon head back to Washington D.C. to get financial support for radioactive waste victims.
This is the group's sixth time going in a year and this time around may be the most important visit yet.
Dawn Chapman is the co-founder of the advocacy group Just Moms STL. They are putting the pressure on once again.
"This program will save lives," Chapman said.
The persistence is to pass RECA, which is the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.
If passed it would expand and compensate victims of radioactive waste in the St. Louis region.
The waste is connected to the first atomic bomb.
This week, Senator Josh Hawley spoke on the Senate floor calling for the House of Representatives to immediately reauthorize and expand RECA, which is set to expire June 7th.
RECA has already been passed by the U.S. Senate.
Hawley and U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt were a part of those efforts.
Schmitt told 5 On Your Side, "This is personal for me, I grew up in Bridgeton... They deserve action, it won't solve all the problems in the world for them, but it's a big important step and sends a message. So we passed that out of the Senate in a bipartisan way and it's sitting over in the House and we hope they move on it."
The two were among 29 members of Congress who wrote a letter at the end of April urging Speaker Mike Johnson to pass RECA.
"It's an absolute tragedy; it's robbed families and stolen lives," Chapman shared.
The urgency became even more apparent.
On Friday, a visitation for Scott McClurg happened in Florissant.
The north St. Louis County native and beloved Southern Illinois University Carbondale Professor died in April after a 14-year fight with brain cancer.
He grew up playing in Coldwater Creek.
McClurg was involved in the early years of the Facebook page called 'Coldwater Creek - Just the Facts Please.'
Chapman shared, "His story is very raw to us right now, I didn't know him personally but it's why we're going back to DC next week because he's not alone and his family is not alone. We have to get this program, we deserve to be in it because of people like this individual. It won't bring him back, maybe it can help his family and it sure does help others in the future."
RECA's future is on the line. Only time will tell what's next.
"Our support for this grows, but is it enough to tip it before June 7th? I still feel optimistic for it, I really do," Chapman added.
Chapman is urging for a champion in the U.S. House.
"We need somebody to step up, pound their fist on our behalf. We deserve that. This gentleman with his visitation today, can somebody from the Missouri Congressional delegation jump up and get righteously angry on him and his family behalf please because we sure are and Senator Hawley sure is," she said with passion.
Here is a statement from the Southern Illinois University Carbondale College of Liberal Arts:
“It is not an exaggeration to say that Scott McClurg was one of the most respected researchers in American politics and political methodology. During his career he was one of the most highly published and most prolific authors in political science, particularly in the field of social networks. He was on the editorial board for the American Journal of Political Science, the most widely read and widely cited journal in the field. He was a founding editor of Research and Politics in 2014. More importantly, he was a good person, and one who never took his academic achievements too seriously. Those who played soccer with him in the Southern Illinois Adult Soccer League were generally surprised to find out he was such a respected academic, because he never held his intelligence above anyone.
“Scott was diagnosed with brain cancer and fought bravely for years through multiple operations and procedures. The cumulative toll of the cancer and the operations left a mark over time. But he did not give up. He continued teaching and researching, while also serving as a chair and a director in political science and journalism. He was also a dedicated parent who served as a leader on the Parrish School and the District 95 Parent-Teacher Associations. We will miss him.”