The program, which pays victims of the effects of past nuclear weapons testing and uranium mining, is processing claims faster and has enough funding to ensure checks for those who qualify, the GAO says.

That's a turnaround from a past report showing a funding shortage and backlog of claims. In April 2003, the GAO said funding estimates for payoffs may be inadequate, but now says actions taken ensure the program will be fully funded in 2005 and future years.

“It's good to see that there won't be any more IOUs sent to people who are sick and dying from cancer,” said Alyson Heyrend, spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, who has fought for more funding for downwinders and against further testing of nuclear weapons.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act passed Congress in 1990 as a way to pay partial restitution to victims of radiation caused by above-ground nuclear weapons testing from 1945 to 1962 in Nevada. The act was expanded in 2000, and Congress later moved to have three of the five possible claimant categories paid out of another fund.

The GAO also said that the average number of days to process a claim has been reduced from the 2000 averages. In 2000, it took 244 days to process a claim for a downwinder, compared to 222 now, the GAO said. The average time to process a claim for a uranium miller dropped by 124 days from 2000 through June 2005, the report says.

The number of pending cases is also down, the GAO found. In 2000, about 18 percent of claims were awaiting a decision compared with about 8 percent currently pending.

tburr@sltrib.com