Lawmakers Back Changes at C.I.A. for Handling Mystery Health Episodes

WASHINGTON — The House Intelligence Committee approved a bipartisan connection connected Thursday to supply further resources to assistance find the origin of Havana syndrome illnesses and instrumentality steps to reappraisal the C.I.A.’s handling of the mysterious episodes that person injured much than 200 authorities officials.

The measurement would overhaul the agency’s bureau of aesculapian services and make a voluntary strategy wherever C.I.A. officers assigned overseas could archetypal person encephalon scans and laboratory enactment that would assistance doctors find the grade of their injures should they aboriginal grounds symptoms accordant with Havana syndrome oregon study being victims of a wellness episode.

The measurement comes arsenic immoderate quality officers person expressed reticence astir accepting overseas posts, oregon bringing their household members connected tours successful countries wherever the episodes person taken place, existent and erstwhile officials said.

“I deliberation arsenic agelong arsenic these incidents are recurring, with what seems to beryllium expanding frequency, without the recognition of a perpetrator and without the quality to halt them, I deliberation those concerns are going to continue,” said Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and the president of the Intelligence Committee.

A U.S. authoritative said C.I.A. officers had volunteered successful ample numbers to enactment connected the contented of the wellness episodes, anxious to find answers.

Since 2016, diplomats, quality officers and subject unit successful Asia, Europe and the Americas person reported proceeding unusual sounds, feeling unexplained vigor oregon experiencing unit and past suffering headaches, nausea, vertigo oregon different symptoms. In galore cases, the symptoms person gone connected for months oregon years.

While immoderate authorities officials are convinced that a hostile quality work utilizing an eavesdropping instrumentality oregon a directed-energy limb is liable for the injuries, C.I.A. analysts person not reached a decision astir what is causing the episodes oregon if a hostile powerfulness is responsible.

While the agency’s director, William J. Burns, has been praised for the attraction and resources helium has enactment toward victims of Havana syndrome, Congress has been captious of however the C.I.A. and the larger U.S. authorities handled the cases earlier this year.

The Intelligence Committee is doing its ain investigation, and the measure approved connected Thursday mandates an inspector wide reappraisal of the show of the C.I.A.’s aesculapian division, and sets up an extracurricular advisory committee to analyse its work.

“We privation accountability,” Mr. Schiff said. “It took excessively agelong to get to wherever we are. Too galore radical were suffering, not getting the assistance that they needed and not being believed. So, we’re inactive making up for mislaid ground.”

Marc E. Polymeropoulos, a elder C.I.A. serviceman astatine the time, was injured successful Moscow successful 2017 but did not person effectual attraction until aft helium retired and began seeing doctors this twelvemonth astatine Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“The bottommost enactment is that traumatic encephalon wounded does not get amended implicit time, truthful I and others suffered unnecessarily,” Mr. Polymeropoulos said. “We made a pact with the C.I.A.: When we would bash pugnacious things and get jammed up, they would person our back.”

Doug Wise, a erstwhile apical quality authoritative who has been captious of the C.I.A.’s handling of the wellness episodes during the Trump administration, said it was important for reviews to look astatine however apical C.I.A. officials handled the episodes, and wherefore officers’ reports were not initially taken seriously.

“I deliberation it is an important happening for the committee to mandate a review. For immoderate crushed the bureau is incapable of doing their ain look due to the fact that they are unwilling to clasp their ain leaders accountable,” Mr. Wise said. “The lone happening the victims asked for was respect, compassion and aesculapian treatment.”

This year, Mr. Burns removed the caput of the bureau of aesculapian services, replacing him with a doc focused connected diligent care. Former quality officials person said the bureau is much focused connected unfortunate attraction since that change.

The House measurement is aimed astatine further improving attraction for quality officers by raising wage for the agency’s doctors, mandating extracurricular objective grooming and creating an advisory committee appointed by Congress and the manager of nationalist intelligence.

The Senate mentation of the measure does not person the precise provisions of the House measure, but the Senate Intelligence Committee is apt to enactment the measure, legislature officials said.

Asked astir the House measure, a C.I.A. spokeswoman said the bureau recognized the committee’s work, and looked guardant to seeing the last provisions.

This month, Congress overwhelmingly passed a measure drafted by Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, to supply further resources for victims of Havana syndrome, a motion of the wide bipartisan enactment for bills addressing the issue. Still, House and Senate leaders volition request to find a legislative conveyance successful which to see a last quality authorization measure by the extremity of the year.

At slightest 100 C.I.A. officers person been injured and suffered symptoms accordant with Havana syndrome since 2016, erstwhile diplomats and quality officers successful Cuba reported proceeding unusual sounds oregon sensing unit earlier experiencing headaches, nausea and different symptoms.

Those episodes were followed by others successful China and elsewhere successful the world.

In galore cases, doctors treating radical exhibiting symptoms of Havana syndrome person struggled to place the grade of the injuries due to the fact that they deficiency encephalon scans from earlier the episodes arsenic points of comparison.

Getting a encephalon scan oregon doing aesculapian laboratory enactment earlier deploying overseas would beryllium voluntary nether the measurement approved by the House committee. Collecting specified before-and-after accusation could beryllium captious to some improving treatments and identifying the cause, Mr. Schiff said.

“The lack of knowing the baseline impairs the diagnosis,” Mr. Schiff said. “People person antithetic baselines and it would beryllium utile to cognize what those look like, to spot however things person changed.”