WHEREAS, between 1962 and 1974, the Department of Defense carried out the chemical and biological warfare testing projects known as Project 112 and the Shipboard Hazard and Defense Project, or Project SHAD; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Defense acknowledges that one-hundred thirty-four such warfare tests were planned and fifty executed, with nineteen conducted at sea primarily in the South Pacific and off the coast of Hawaii, and thirty-one on land in Hawaii, the Panama Canal Zone, and Alaska; and

WHEREAS, while some public awareness has grown about the tests since they became declassified, key pieces of information remain out of public grasp, including the agent dosage levels involved and the identities of exposed veterans as well as civilians; and

WHEREAS, Professor Ken Alibek of the University of Maryland recounts in his book, Bio Hazard that the Russian government took care of veterans until death who were exposed to these same chemicals; and

WHEREAS, in an effort to fully understand the extent of these tests and to provide exposed veterans with proper medical care, United States Representatives Mike Thompson and Denny Rehberg have introduced the Veterans' Right to Know Act, H.R. 4259; and

WHEREAS, the people of Hawaii have a right to know the truth about any chemical and biological testing conducted in their State; and

WHEREAS, the Veterans' Right to Know Commission should be empowered to investigate what occurred in the State of Hawaii during Project SHAD not only to veterans but also to the civilian population; and

WHEREAS, the Veterans' Right to Know Act would create a ten-member, bipartisan commission to investigate the chemical or biological warfare tests carried out under Project 112, Project SHAD and related tests, and to provide full notification through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to those veterans exposed to chemical or biological testing so that they may receive proper medical treatment and consideration for any service-related disability compensation; and

WHEREAS, the Veterans' Right to Know Act has received endorsement from a variety of veterans' service organizations, including the American Legion, the Blinded Veterans Association, the Disabled American Veterans, the Military Officers Association of America, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Radiated Veterans of America, Inc., and the Vietnam Veterans of America; and

WHEREAS, California State Senator Wesley Chesbro and State Assemblywoman Patty Berg authored the California Senate Joint Resolution supporting H.R. 4259, the Veterans' Right to Know Act; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that the Legislature supports H.R. 4259, the Veterans' Right to Know Act, sponsored by United States Representatives Mike Thompson and Denny Rehberg, and co-sponsored by Hawaii Congressman Neil Abercrombie, and twenty-four other members of Congress; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature shall give serious consideration to establishing a Veterans' Right to Know Commission, which shall include an investigation into the impact these chemical and biological tests had upon the civilian population in Hawaii and in other testing areas; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the members of the Hawaii Congressional delegation.

Report Title:

Veterans' Right to Know Act; Commission; Support