[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 39 (Wednesday, April 13, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 13, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
       TRIBUTE TO PULITZER PRIZE WINNING REPORTER EILEEN WELSOME

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                          HON. BILL RICHARDSON

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 13, 1994

  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in 
recognizing the remarkable achievements of a reporter from my home 
State of New Mexico. As you may know from this morning's papers, Ms. 
Eileen Welsome of the Albuquerque Tribune was awarded the Pulitzer 
Prize for National Reporting for her series of articles on radiation 
experimentation by the Federal Government in the 1940's.
  Although Ms. Welsome's five-story series focused on the 
experimentation on five individuals in the 1940's, its publication 
broke open a decades-old secret that the U.S. Government had been 
involved in radiation experimentation on unknowing victims for a period 
of more than 30 years beginning in the 1940's. This remarkable 
breakthrough rocked the Nation, and led to a new era of openness on the 
part of the Federal Government, which was responsible for these bizarre 
experiments.
  Ms. Welsome's excellent research and reporting revealed a legacy of 
deception and deceit. But more than that, it showcased the importance 
of our constitutional right to a free press. We may not always agree 
with the stories reported by the media, but the fine work by Ms. 
Welsome underscores the importance of one of our most basic democratic 
freedoms.
  The five-part series Ms. Welsome reported was followed by an 
announcement and acknowledgement from Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary 
that these experiments did take place. Subsequently, President Clinton 
announced the formation of national commission to investigate the 
extent of the Government experimentation and make recommendations for 
future action.
  I believe it is also important to recognize the fine judgment 
exhibited by Ms. Welsome's employer, the Albuquerque Tribune and the 
tenacity with which Ms. Welsome pursued this story. With the assistance 
of the paper, Ms. Welsome spent 6 years tracking down the individuals 
behind this story. Her persistence has been justly rewarded by the 
announcement of this Pulitzer Prize.
  It is not every day that one story, or one series of stories, 
captures the Nation the way Eileen Welsome's did. This story, and the 
events that followed its publication, have made history. Ms. Welsome 
and the Albuquerque Tribune are entirely deserving of this honor. The 
Pulitzer Prize should stand for no less than the journalistic integrity 
exhibited by the reporting of this story.

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