Since the atomic bomb program began during WWII, countless Americans have been exposed to radiation — either from mining uranium or from the tests themselves.

But compensation for the cancers caused by this exposure has been limited, and this summer, Congress allowed the main way of paying for treatment to expire that’s been especially harmful to Native Americans and Mexican Americans living in the southwest.

Late last month, members of several tribes and others affected by exposure went by bus to Washington -- to persuade lawmakers to revive and expand the cancer treatment program.

The Mountain West News Bureau's Yvette Fernandez met up with them and has this report.