(KTTS News) — Missouri Senator Josh Hawley says Congress has stripped a provision to compensate people exposed to radioactive material at Coldwater Creek from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Senator Hawley says Congressional leaders removed the stripped the money from the bill during backdoor sessions.

He posted on social media that the cuts are a “a major betrayal of thousands and thousands of Missourians who have been lied to and ignored for years.”

Coldwater Creek in North St. Louis is contaminated by nuclear waste left over from efforts to build the first atomic bomb during World War Two.

I am told RECA renewal is NOT in the final defense bill. The backroom dealmakers took it out – even after the big bipartisan vote in the Senate. This is a major betrayal of thousands and thousands of Missourians who have been lied to and ignored for years

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) December 6, 2023