WASHINGTON – In light of new allegations raised in a recent CBS 60 Minutes news segment, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), a senior member of the U.S. Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, and Susan Collins (R-Maine), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging his administration to renew efforts to investigate the root cause behind anomalous health incidents (AHIs), also known as “Havana Syndrome.” Joined by U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the letter also called for timely compensation for impacted individuals and requests an interagency briefing from administration officials to understand their current efforts to identify attribution behind these attacks.

“We write to express concern regarding the allegations raised in a joint investigation by CBS’ 60 Minutes, Der Spiegel and the Insider which point to evidence that the Russian intelligence unit, GRU, is responsible for directed energy attacks against American government officials and their families,” wrote the lawmakers. “Despite our efforts to provide support to affected individuals and advance legislation to ensure that an interagency response was in place to get to the root cause behind these incidents, we are frustrated that this phenomenon is left unresolved and urge you to renew efforts to identify the cause behind directed energy attacks.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.

Dear President Biden,

We write to express concern regarding the allegations raised in a joint investigation by CBS’ 60 Minutes, Der Spiegel and the Insider which point to evidence that the Russian intelligence unit, GRU 29511, is responsible for directed energy attacks against American government officials and their families. These allegations, which were made by former U.S. government personnel stationed abroad and within the continental U.S. suffering from anomalous health incidents (AHIs) and administration officials close to the U.S. government’s investigation, warrant a renewed assessment and by the U.S. government. Despite our efforts to provide support to affected individuals and advance legislation to ensure that an interagency response was in place to get to the root cause behind these incidents, we are frustrated that this phenomenon is left unresolved and urge you to renew efforts to identify the cause behind directed energy attacks and request that the Administration initiate a review of the March 2023 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) of AHIs.

Since AHIs were first publicly reported by individuals who served in Cuba and China, we have worked closely to ensure that affected individuals get access to treatment and compensation and that the U.S. government is prioritizing an interagency response to this phenomenon. Our bipartisan legislation, the HAVANA Act (P.L. 117-46), was signed into law in 2021 to provide payments for individuals affected by AHIs while serving on behalf of our country. In 2022, Congress also passed our legislation (P.L. 117-263) that requires the U.S. government to establish an interagency coordinator to organize a whole-of-government response and require regular interagency briefings to Congress regarding the government’s response to AHIs.

In the process of responding to this phenomenon, we have met with dozens of former intelligence officials, service members and diplomats who put their lives on the line to serve their country. Most recently, some of these individuals have told Congress that the Intelligence Community has not followed all credible leads about AHIs or that the Intelligence Community is in possession of information that undermines or contradicts the assessment provided by the National Intelligence Council in March 2023 that “available intelligence consistently points against the involvement of US adversaries in causing the reported incidents.”

At this time, we recognize that we must not let allegations carry more weight than evidence. However, the 60 Minutes piece presented compelling evidence that warrants further review.

Given that the U.S. intelligence community has still not identified the root cause of AHIs or attributed responsibility for them and that reports of new AHIs continue, we should continue to investigate potential actors and causal mechanisms to prevent future incidents taking place to protect U.S. government employees and family members. Given the recent allegations, we respectfully request that the following actions are taken by your Administration.

First, we request an interagency briefing with officials from all relevant government agencies to discuss the allegations that have been raised in recent media coverage, outline continued efforts to investigate the cause behind anomalous health incidents, communicate how the interagency is undertaking efforts to protect the health and safety of U.S. government employees serving domestically and abroad and provide an update on full implementation of the HAVANA Act.

Second, although we are pleased that some individuals are now receiving compensation for these incidents, there are still a number of individuals who have not received compensation due to unacceptable delays at the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense. The Department of Justice has yet to finalize implementing guidance that also impacts affected individuals at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We urge you to call on the Department of Justice to finalize the draft rule without delay. It is unacceptable that affected individuals are treated unequally by government departments, despite our best efforts to ensure that all government agencies have the authority to designate an individual eligible for compensation. Additionally, the Department of Defense has yet to issue the federal regulations required under statute.

Third, as members of the relevant Congressional Committees with the responsibility to respond to this issue, we hope to partner with your Administration to advance any new legislation that may be required to both get to the root cause behind AHIs and ensure that victims get access to the treatment they deserve.

There is no higher priority than the health and safety of American government employees and family members who commit their lives to advance U.S. national security interests. We must do everything we can to protect them.

Sincerely,

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