United States President Joe Biden, on Friday, signed a bill that will provide support to the victims of the mysterious “Havana syndrome.” The illness has a strange amalgamation of symptoms that have affected diplomats, spies and service members around the globe.
“I was pleased to sign the HAVANA Act into law to ensure we are doing our utmost to provide for US Government personnel who have experienced anomalous health incidents,” Biden said in a statement, referring to the episodes as incidents and not dubbing it ‘attacks’.
Unlike Biden, top Senate Intelligence Committee lawmakers have labelled the episodes as ‘attacks’.
“Addressing these incidents has been a top priority for my Administration,” he said after he signed the bill behind a closed door.
The bipartisan HAVANA Act — or Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks Act — passed both the Senate and the House unanimously.
The Act helps the US government in increasing medical support for people who have been affected by the mysterious illness.
The legislation needs the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the State Department to bring about regulations that will be “detailing fair and equitable criteria for payment” to victims who are suffering from traumatic brain injuries.
The law also requires the reports of agencies’ use of the funding to be sent to Congress. That would include the number of employees and dependents who were given the financial support.
The signing comes in the wake of rising Havana Syndrome cases. The most recent case was of a senior member of CIA Director Bill Burns’ staff who got sick during a trip to India.
As per Burns, the intelligence community is yet to arrive at a decision on who is behind the episodes.
The bill was first passed by Senate – advanced by Sen. Susan Collins, Republican of Maine – in early June. However, due to procedures, the passage of the bill was delayed in the House.