[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 82 (Thursday, May 17, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S6301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. AKAKA:
  S. 1421. A bill to provide for the maintenance, management, and 
availability for research of assets of Air Force Health Study; to the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation intended 
to ensure that valuable biological specimens and data from a seminal 
Air Force Health Study will be properly maintained and safeguarded for 
future research opportunities.
  In 1979, the U.S. Air Force began a study that lasted over 20 years 
to evaluate the health outcomes of occupational exposure to agent 
orange among the men who were members of Operation Ranch Hand during 
the Vietnam War. That study is now completed.
  During six cycles of examinations--1982, 1985, 1987, 1992, 1997, and 
2002--in which 2,758 members of the Air Force participated, data and 
specimens were gathered. No other epidemiological data set of Vietnam 
veterans contains as detailed information over as long a time period. 
Analysis of this data has contributed to a greater understanding of the 
long-term health effects of exposure to agent orange. Approximately 
$143 million was spent on this study.
  An amendment I authored last year, which was included in the 2006 
National Defense Authorization Act, resulted in transferring Ranch Hand 
Study materials from the Air Force to the Medical Follow-Up Agency of 
the Institute of Medicine for preservation and future use. In order to 
make the most effective use of this material, the Medical Follow-Up 
Agency requires small amounts of funding for several years to ensure 
that the specimens and data are properly maintained in a useful format 
and made available for further research.
  My bill is consistent with the recommendations of the Institute of 
Medicine's report on the disposition of the study. I urge my colleagues 
to support this legislation.
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