Bill from Turner, Wenstrup approved by House committee as part of defense bill

The U.S. House Armed Services Committee this week approved the bipartisan Havana Syndrome Servicemember Support Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, legislation introduced by U.S. Reps. Mike Turner (R-OH) and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH).

The Havana Syndrome Servicemember Support Act, H.R. 5132, which is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), would require the U.S. Defense Secretary to establish a cross-functional team that would address national security challenges posed by anomalous health incidents and ensure that individuals affected by anomalous health incidents receive timely and comprehensive health care and treatment, according to the text of the bill.

The phrase “anomalous health incidents” is commonly used by the State Department to describe Havana syndrome, a set of mysterious symptoms of unknown origin that date back to 2016 when several U.S. and Canadian diplomats in Cuba reported suffering from visual and hearing problems, vertigo, cognitive difficulties, nausea, severe headaches, and insomnia. Many affected personnel continue to suffer from health problems years after the attacks. Since 2016, U.S. government workers in China, Russia, and Austria also have reported having these symptoms.

Subsequent studies of the affected diplomats in Cuba, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2018, found evidence that the diplomats experienced some form of brain injury. While the cause of the injuries wasn’t determined, and no expert consensus exists on the cause of the symptoms, a co-author of the JAMA study considered microwave weapons to be “a main suspect” for the phenomenon.

The ongoing Havana syndrome “situation threatens our national security, and we must immediately work to protect our U.S. diplomats and citizens working abroad,” Rep. Turner said. “This amendment would provide medical resources to the victims and most notably, investigate the causes and perpetrators of these attacks.”

H.R. 5132 also would permit the Secretary of Defense to appoint an Under Secretary to lead a cross-functional team to address anomalous health incidents and to integrate a cross-agency effort to address and mitigate such attacks, according to the lawmaker’s bill summary.

“We need to ensure our personnel receive timely and comprehensive health care for these incidents as well as better integrate DOD efforts with other agencies in order to address this serious threat,” Rep. Wenstrup said. “To that end, I’m proud to co-lead this bipartisan bill to help better equip us to protect Americans on diplomatic missions.”