[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21709]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          THE WAR ON TERRORISM

  (Mr. RODRIGUEZ asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, today I rise on a bipartisan bill, H.R. 
2433, the Health Care for Veterans of Project 112. Project 112 was a 
series of military tests that were conducted during the Cold War in the 
1960s. Many of these tests happened at sea and some on land.
  The Department of Defense has admitted that they have no evidence 
that test participants were ever told about the tests, so we are 
extremely concerned about that in some cases. It is impossible to 
believe that the military exposed its own troops to such potent gases 
such as VX nerve gas and sarin. Veterans are naturally concerned about 
what has transpired and the information that we have received.
  We have filed legislation and this will give us the opportunity to 
begin to examine these troops. We anticipate close to 6,000 troops 
might have been impacted by these tests. The VA has also requested this 
legislation to allow them to be able to do this test, and I am 
extremely pleased it is a bipartisan piece of legislation. So I ask for 
my colleagues' support of H.R. 2433.

                          ____________________