Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen
December 15, 2021
**A senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Shaheen helps write the annual defense bill every year**
**Based on her bipartisan standalone legislation, the provision requires the administration to designate senior national security officials to organize a whole-of-government response, assist those suffering from directed energy attacks**
**Provision builds on provisions Shaheen secured in the committee-approved defense bill to enhance congressional oversight on directed energy attacks**
(Washington, DC)?– U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) –?a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee – issued the following statement after the Senate passed the fiscal year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a key provision secured by Shaheen to assist Americans affected by directed energy attacks. The annual legislation authorizes national defense priorities for fiscal year (FY) 2022. Now that the legislation has cleared Congress, it will be sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
“This is a significant step forward for our public servants living with injuries they incurred while in service to our nation, or while supporting loved ones in their public service. Directed energy attacks have targeted Americans in various corners of the globe for years, imposing serious injuries that many still suffer with today. These attacks on Americans demand a whole-of-government response, which is precisely what my provision seeks to do,” said Shaheen. “By establishing this senior coordinating official, and high-level officials across the interagency responsible for overseeing their agencies’ efforts, we can ensure equitable access to high-quality care for those affected, and most critically: make clear to victims that lawmakers in Congress are listening and will do everything we can to respond to their needs. I’ll continue to work across the aisle to see that our public servants have the medical benefits and services they need to get well, and to see that no stone is left unturned in the U.S. government’s investigation to uncover the causation of these attacks.”
Shaheen’s provision is based on her standalone legislation, which she introduced earlier this year with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and will reform the U.S. government’s investigation and response to suspected directed energy attacks, and improve access to care for impacted individuals. Specifically, the provision will require the President to designate a senior national security official to organize a whole-of-government response and direct the heads of relevant agencies to designate senior officials to lead their agency’s response.
Senator Shaheen has long stood by government employees and their families who have suffered from these mysterious injuries, and leads efforts in Congress to provide them critical health benefits. Her amendment builds on provisions she secured in the committee-approved defense bill to enhance congressional oversight on directed energy attacks. In the FY2021 NDAA that became law, Shaheen successfully included language to expand a provision in law that she previously wrote to provide long-term, emergency care benefits to all U.S. Government employees and their dependents who were mysteriously injured while working in China and Cuba. Earlier this year, legislation Shaheen co-sponsored, led by Senator Collins, to support public servants who have incurred injuries due to directed energy attacks was signed into law.
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