Statement on Protections for Human Subjects of Classified Research,
March 28, 1997

When I accepted the Advisory Committee’s report in October of 1995, I promised that it would not be left on the shelf to gather dust. I made a commitment that we would learn from the lessons the committee’s report offered and use it as a roadmap to lead us to better choices in the future. We have actively worked to respond to the Advisory Committee’s recommendations to make the record of these experiments open to the public, to improve ethics in human research today, and to right the wrongs of the past.

The report we are releasing today is an important milestone in our progress, but we are by no means at the end of our journey. Much work remains to be done. I am confident that all of us—the eminent committee that produced the original report, the Federal officials who worked so hard to support the committee’s efforts, and most importantly, the citizens of this great country from whose experiences we have learned so much—can together help ensure a better world for our children.

Note: Secretary of Energy Federico Pena read the President’s statement in a briefing announcing the report entitled, "Building Public Trust: Actions To Respond to the Report of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments."