    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [March 28, 1997]
    [Page 359]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Protections for Human Subjects of Classified Research
    March 28, 1997

        When I accepted the Advisory Committee's report in October of 1995,
    I promised that it would not be left on the shelf to gather dust. I made
    a commitment that we would learn from the lessons the committee's report
    offered and use it as a roadmap to lead us to better choices in the
    future. We have actively worked to respond to the Advisory Committee's
    recommendations to make the record of these experiments open to the
    public, to improve ethics in human research today, and to right the
    wrongs of the past.
        The report we are releasing today is an important milestone in our
    progress, but we are by no means at the end of our journey. Much work
    remains to be done. I am confident that all of us--the eminent committee
    that produced the original report, the Federal officials who worked so
    hard to support the committee's efforts, and most importantly, the
    citizens of this great country from whose experiences we have learned so
    much--can together help ensure a better world for our children.

    Note: Secretary of Energy Federico Pena read the President's statement
    in a briefing announcing the report entitled ``Building Public Trust:
    Actions To Respond to the Report of the Advisory Committee on Human
    Radiation Experiments.'' The related memorandum of March 27 is listed in
    Appendix D at the end of this volume.