IV
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. RES. 337
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to radiation
experiments conducted by the Federal Government.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 2, 1994
Mr. FROST (for himself and Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas) submit-
ted the following resolution; which was referred jointly to the Committees
on Government Operations, Energy and Commerce, and the Judiciary
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with
respect to radiation experiments conducted by the Fed-
eral Government.
Whereas the Federal Government intentionally conducted se-
cret radiation experiments on individuals beginning in the
1940’s;
Whereas the experiments were conducted without the in-
formed consent or knowledge of the individuals on whom
the experiments were performed;
Whereas the radiation experiments included, but were not
limited to, experiments involving injections of plutonium,
prescription of radioactive medication to pregnant
women, ingestion of irradiated food, and exposure to at-
mospheric radiation;
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Whereas the Federal Government performed the experiments
not in order to achieve medical or health benefits for the
individuals who were subjects in the experiments, but for
research purposes to allow Federal Government scientists
and health specialists to study the effects of radiation on
the human body;
Whereas, at the time of the experiments and in the years fol-
lowing the experiments, previous Federal administrations
failed to inform the individuals used as subjects, or their
families, about the nature and effects of the experiments;
Whereas the failure to inform such individuals and their fam-
ilies persisted even after a 1986 report, issued by the
Subcommittee on Energy Conservation and Power of the
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives, disclosed the existence of some of the ex-
periments and recommended that individuals used as
subjects in the experiments be identified, located, and
provided with followup medical care; and
Whereas such experiments conducted on individuals without
their consent or permission were wrong and unacceptable
in a free and democratic society, and all reasonable steps
should be taken to ensure that such experiments never
happen again: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that—
(1) the people of the United States deserve a
full accounting of the nature and extent of the radi-
ation experiments conducted by the Federal Govern-
ment;
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(2) the Secretary of Energy should be com-
mended for quickly responding to the disclosures
that secret radiation experiments had been con-
ducted on individuals without their informed consent
by promising to locate and release all relevant
records;
(3) the President should be commended for es-
tablishing a Human Radiation Interagency Working
Group and an independent Advisory Committee on
Human Radiation Experiments to examine the sci-
entific and ethical questions raised by the experi-
ments and to make recommendations to the Presi-
dent;
(4) all departments and agencies of the Federal
Government should act expeditiously to locate, re-
trieve, and inventory all records and documents re-
lated to the radiation experiments;
(5) once located, retrieved, and inventoried, all
relevant records and documents should be made
available to the individuals who were used as sub-
jects in the experiments, and to their families, to
allow them to learn the truth about the experiments;
(6) the individuals who were subjects in the ex-
periments and are still alive should receive appro-
priate followup medical care;