Bennett's event, scheduled for this morning in St. George, is a public acknowledgment of a sensitive subject in a region blanketed by radioactive fallout during the tests of the 1950s and 1960s - and a nod to hundreds of Utahns who blame their cancer on the tests.

The announcement also comes in an election year when Bennett's record on nuclear issues has been questioned.

Bennett spokeswoman Mary Jane Collipriest rejects the idea the senator is trying to catch up on the issue.

"This is good, responsible public policy," Collipriest said. "This has been in the thought process for a long time."

But his Democratic opponent in the 2004 election, former Utah Attorney General Paul Van Dam, says Bennett's timing smacks of politics.

"I could use the Republican term: flip-flop," Van Dam said.

From the scant details provided in a news release, Bennett's bill mirrors legislation introduced by 2nd District Congressman Jim Matheson in March, requiring congressional approval, an environmental impact analysis and public input before nuclear testing could resume.

Bennett was criticized late last year for being unaware of a provision in an energy bill that would have allowed hotter radioactive waste from Fernald, Ohio, and Niagara Falls, N.Y., to be dumped in Utah.

Letters revealed Bennett had advocated for a redefinition of such waste for years. Then last month, saying he had been reassured by the Bush administration, Bennett withdrew an amendment to the 2005 defense spending bill which funded the study of bunker-buster atomic bombs. Bennett's change would have required congressional approval before such testing could begin.

Van Dam figures Bennett is now trying to create political cover for his nuclear record.

"Utahns have paid a horrendous price for deception in the name of national security. And it could happen again," Van Dam said. "He's trying to appear to do the right thing. But a senator who really wants to protect Utah votes against even the study of testing. The people of Utah deserve a definite answer about where he stands."

Mary Dickson of Salt Lake City, who attributes her own thyroid cancer to the atomic bomb tests, agrees. While she is glad Bennett is proposing his own legislation, Dickson noted Bennett did not appear at a Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act hearing in Salt Lake City last week. The bigger test of his commitment to the issue, she says, will be Bennett's votes in the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee this fall, when lawmakers will decide which nuclear weapons activities to fund.

"How he votes on that committee will really show where he stands on the issue," Dickson said. "It will be very telling."

Pollster Dan Jones says nuclear issues have the potential to heat up during the 2004 campaign, with President Bush hinting at renewed nuclear testing in Nevada and the continuing fights over dumping nuclear waste in Utah landfills.

"It's a very laden issue in Utah," Jones said. Bennett's new legislation "might be inoculation for future testing."

Collipriest says Bennett's record is clear. Bennett and Matheson have conferred on their legislation. Bennett's version includes additional restrictions that Collipriest said makes the senator's bill even stronger, but she would not discuss specifics before the southern Utah news conference.

"Sen. Bennett is not going to support efforts to disarm the country. But he doesn't want to sanction activities that will put citizens at risk," she said. "He believes this is a prudent way to proceed."