[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 186 (Monday, November 20, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S17510-S17511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ADDRESSING THE CONCERNS OF ATOMIC VETERANS

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, last month, President Clinton at a 
White House ceremony accepted the final report of the Advisory 
Committee on Human Radiation Experiments. Following Energy Secretary 
Hazel O'Leary's announcement early in 1994 about secret human radiation 
experiments carried out or sponsored by the 

[[Page S 17511]]
U.S. Government, President Clinton created the advisory committee to 
advise the Human Radiation Interagency Working Group on the ethical and 
scientific issues related to such experiments. The Human Radiation 
Interagency Working Group, is a Cabinet-level body that includes the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jesse Brown.
  I believe the advisory committee should be commended for devoting 
considerable attention to atomic veterans in its final report and 
including two recommendations concerning compensation for them. On 
several occasions, I strongly advocated that the advisory committee 
include atomic veterans in their inquiry. In February, for example, I 
issued a statement urging the panel to include atomic veterans in their 
final report and recommend specific options for the Government to 
provide recourse to atomic veterans seeking compensation. At that time, 
I stressed:

       By any standard atomic veterans are perhaps America's most 
     neglected group of veterans, and with the work of the 
     advisory committee we now have an excellent opportunity to 
     finally answer some of these veterans' questions and to 
     address some of the injustices they have suffered.

  In March, I had the honor of being the only Senator to publicly 
testify before the advisory committee--dedicating my testimony to the 
Forgotten 216th. I did so not only because many of these atomic 
veterans are Minnesotans but also because they have done so much to 
educate me about the plight of atomic veterans and their brave and 
continuing fight for justice.
  Mr. President, since January 1994, I have had numerous meetings and 
contacts with the men of the Forgotten 216th and their families. Since 
their problems typify those of other atomic veterans nationwide, permit 
me to tell you about veterans of the U.S. Army's 216th Chemical Service 
Company and about why they now term themselves the Forgotten 216th.
  The Forgotten 216th participated in a series of atmospheric nuclear 
tests in Nevada in 1952 called Operation Tumbler Snapper. They believed 
their Government's assurances that it would protect them against any 
harm, but now are convinced they were used as guinea pigs with no 
concern shown for their safety. Many were sent to measure fallout at or 
near ground zero immediately after a nuclear bomb blast, encountering 
radiation so high that their geiger counters literally went off the 
scale while they inhaled and ingested radioactive particles. They were 
given little or no protection, sometimes even lacking film badges to 
measure their exposure to radiation and were not informed of the 
dangers they faced. Moreover, they were sworn to secrecy about their 
participation in nuclear tests, sometimes denied access to their own 
service health records, and provided with no followup health care or 
even medical monitoring. Many members of the 216th have already died, 
often of cancer. Is it any wonder these men now refer to themselves as 
the Forgotten 216th?
  Given this horrendous situation, I was delighted to see that the 
advisory committee report included a recommendation that held out hope 
that the Forgotten 216th and other atomic veterans may never again be 
forgotten by the Government that placed them in harm's way. The report 
urged the Human Radiation Interagency Working Group to work in 
conjunction with Congress to promptly address the concerns expressed by 
atomic veterans. Among these concerns cited by the committee are 
several that I have long believed needed to be addressed, including:
  The list of presumptive diseases for which atomic vets automatically 
receive VA compensation is incomplete and inadequate.
  The standard of proof for those atomic vets without a presumptive 
disease cannot be met and, given the incompleteness of the exposure 
records retained by the Government, inappropriate.
  Time and money spent on contractors and consultants in administering 
the program, particularly the dose reconstructions required for most 
atomic vets filing claims with the VA, would be better spent on 
directly aiding vets and their survivors.
  With regard to the last two concerns, it is important to note that 
the advisory committee found that ``the Government did not create or 
maintain adequate records regarding the exposure of all participants 
[and] the identity and test locale of all participants. * * *'' This 
finding justifiably calls into question the ability of the Government 
to come up with accurate dose reconstructions on which the approval of 
claims for VA compensation of many atomic veterans depend.
  In the aftermath of the President's acceptance of the report, Jesse 
Brown announced the establishment of an interagency working group 
consisting of representatives from the VA, HHS, and DOD in response to 
the advisory committee's recommendations concerning compensation for 
atomic veterans. The interagency working group is expected to submit 
its report to the Human Radiation Interagency Working Group in the 
spring of 1996.
  Both advisory committee recommendations on atomic veterans urge the 
Human Radiation Interagency Working Group to work in tandem with the 
Congress to implement them and, therefore, I have requested that my 
distinguished colleague Chairman Simpson hold hearings soon after the 
interagency working group established by Secretary Brown issues its 
report in the spring. The purpose of the hearings would be to permit 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs to determine what legislative action 
may need to be taken.
  It is worth noting that the cover of every copy of the Atomic 
Veterans Newsletter, the official publication of the National 
Association of Atomic Veterans, contains the simple but eloquent 
statement: ``The atomic veteran seeks no special favor * * * simply 
justice.'' Their fight for justice has been long, hard, and 
frustrating, but these patriotic and deserving veterans have 
persevered.
  Mr. President, I urge my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to 
join me in seeking to ensure that atomic veterans finally win their 
struggle for justice.

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