Senators introduce bill in response to 'Havana Syndrome' that caused brain trauma to U.S. diplomats

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill Tuesday to evaluate and improve the government’s response to the recent brain attacks on American diplomats referred to as "Havana Syndrome."

Dozens of U.S. diplomats working in Cuba and China starting in 2016 began reporting unusual mental symptoms including headaches, vertigo and blurred vision.

A study that appeared in 2019 in the medical journal JAMA  concluded the diplomats experienced brain trauma but could not definitively say what exactly caused the injuries.

However, U.S officials suspect GRU, Russia’s military-intelligence unit, is responsible for the act, according to Politico.

The response bill was introduced by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, and co-sponsored by Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins. The bill aims to improve efforts across the U.S. government and provide federal money to help those who suffered the trauma and to provide a better response to the attacks, Politico also reports. 

"U.S. public servants injured by directed energy attacks should be treated with the same urgency as any other American injured in the line of duty,” Shaheen said. "They shouldn’t have to jump through bureaucratic hoops to access the care they need, which compounds the suffering they’ve already endured."

The legislation would also create a new position in the White House’s National Security Council that would entail overseeing efforts to make sure victims receive proper medical care and organizing the investigation and responses to the attack.