[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 13 (Monday, March 31, 1997)]
[Pages 424-425]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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.''

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