2 WRONGDOING, AND CONSIDERED PREVIOUS COMPENSATION ON FEBRUARY 2, 1994, THE SUBCOMMITTEE HELD A HEARING EXAMINING THE ISSUE OF GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED EXPERIMENTS PERFORMED ON HUMANS WHO DID NOT GIVE INFORMED CONSENT TO THE EXPERIMENTS INCLUDING SEPARATE TESTS INVOLVING RADIATION, MUSTARD GAS, LSD AND OTHER CHEMICAL AGENTS. THE ALLEGATIONS REGARDING THE CINCINNATI RADIATION EXPERIMENTS ARE VERY SERIOUS. IF THEY ARE 3 TRUE, THESE HUMAN EXPERIMENTS COULD BE AMONG THE MOST EGREGIOUS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO LIGHT YET. OUR TASK IS TO EXAMINE THESE TESTS, WHETHER THE SUBJECTS GAVE INFORMED CONSENT TO PARTICIPATING IN SUCH TESTS, WHAT HARM RESULTED FROM THE TESTS, AND WHETHER COMPENSATION IS APPROPRIATE. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK CONGRESSMAN DAVID MANN, A MEMBER OF THIS SUBCOMMITTEE, FOR BRINGING THE CINCINNATI RADIATION EXPERIMENTS TO THE SUBCOMMITTEE'S ATTENTION. I COMMEND CONGRESSMAN MANN'S COMMITMENT AND PERSISTENCE IN BRINGING THE ISSUE OF THESE EXPERIMENTS TO THE FOREFRONT IN THE CONGRESS AND THE ADMINISTRATION. I KNOW HE ALSO IS WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE HUMAN RADIATION INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ESTABLISHED BY PRESIDENT CLINTON TO ASSURE THAT THESE EXPERIMENTS GET SERIOUS EXAMINATION AS PART OF THAT GROUP'S CONSIDERATION. 4 THE SUBCOMMITTEE ALSO WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME CONGRESSMAN ROB PORTMAN TO THIS SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING. WHILE CONGRESSMAN PORTMAN IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE OR THIS SUBCOMMITTEE, AND THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE'S POLICY DOES NOT ALLOW NONMEMBERS TO QUESTION WITNESSES AT COMMITTEE HEARINGS, I THINK IT IS APPROPRIATE IN THIS INSTANCE FOR CONGRESSMAN PORTMAN TO SIT WITH THE SUBCOMMITTEE, BASED ON HIS EXTENSIVE INVOLVEMENT WITH THIS ISSUE. I THINK CONGRESSMAN PORTMAN'S INVOLVEMENT IN THIS HEARING IS AN UNUSUAL CASE, AND I DO NOT INTEND FOR HIS INVOLVEMENT TO BE A PRECEDENT FOR FUTURE SUBCOMMITTEE OR COMMITTEE HEARINGS. TODAY'S THE SUBCOMMITTEE EXPECTS TO BE INVOLVED IN THE HUMAN TESTING ISSUE FOR SOME TIME TO COME. HEARING IS JUST A STEP IN THE PROCESS, AND DOES NOT FOCUS ON ANY PARTICULAR LEGISLATION. WE EXPECT TO HAVE MORE HEARINGS BEFORE WE CONSIDER WHETHER TO 5 LEGISLATE IN THIS AREA, AND WILL BE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION IN FASHIONING AN WE APPRECIATE THE PRESENCE TODAY OF ALL OUR WITNESSES AND COMMEND THEM FOR THEIR PREPARATION. WE REALIZE THAT WITH SO MANY WITNESSES THERE WILL BE LIMITED TIME FOR MAKING YOUR STATEMENTS AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS TODAY. HOWEVER, ADDITIONAL MATERIALS AND ANSWERS MAY BE SUBMITTED AT A LATER DATE. I NOW RECOGNIZE CONGRESSMAN DAVID MANN TO MAKE AN OPENING STATEMENT. CONGRESSMAN PORTMAN, WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE AN OPENING STATEMENT? NEWS from Congressman David Mann First District - Ohio The Statement of The Honorable David Mann April 11, 1994 Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you for agreeing to convene this hearing today. As you know, I have been working very hard to uncover the facts with regard to the radiation tests performed at Cincinnati General Hospital in the 1960s and 1970s and I believe that this hearing will help to uncover evidence previously unknown and put some logical order to the information already available to us. I would like to thank the witnesses who have agreed to testify before us today. My heart goes out to all of the family members of the patients we will discuss during this hearing. I know that reliving the illnesses of your loved-ones some twenty years ago has brought you real pain. Three of you will sit at the witness table today, but I know many more of you would have liked to share your stories. I would like to ask for unanimous consent that all of the written statements submitted to the Subcommittee and our offices be included in the record for today's proceedings. I would also like to recognize and voice my appreciation for witnesses who will present their candid views of the radiation studies, Dr. Egilman, Dr. Stephens, and Dr. Cox. I would like to thank Dr. Soper from the Department of Defense for presenting testimony on the DOD record retrieval process and President Steger for his testimony on the University's efforts to help investigate this matter. And I would like to thank Dr. Saenger for his willingness to present his views on the radiation experiments and to answer the many questions this Subcommittee will pose. What we know to date, Mr. Chairman, is that some 87 patients received whole and partial body radiation in experiments funded in part by the Department of Defense. We know that the patients involved were diagnosed with various forms of cancer believed to be terminal. We also know that while they may have consented to the treatment, many or perhaps all of them were unaware of the Department of Defense interest in their conditions and many or perhaps all were unaware of the potential side effects of the radiation. We also know that written consent forms were not used until the mid 1960s. (over) WASHINGTON OFFICE 503 Cannon H.O.B. Washington, D.C. 20515 DISTRICT OFFICE 2210 Kroger Building 1014 Vine Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 (513) 684-2723 |