HAVANA Act of 2021
Latest action · May 19, 2021 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2784)
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 19, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks Act of 2021 or the HAVANA Act of 2021
This bill specifically authorizes the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, and other agencies to provide payments to agency personnel who incur brain injuries from hostilities while on assignment.
Specifically, the bill allows agency personnel and their families to receive payments for brain injuries that are incurred (1) during a period of assignment to a foreign duty station; (2) in connection with war, insurgency, hostile acts, terrorist activity, or other agency-designated incidents; and (3) not as the result of willful misconduct.
The bill's authority applies to injuries incurred before, on, or after the date of the bill's enactment. Agencies must submit classified reports on the bill's implementation, including the number of payments made and the amount of each payment.
Since 2016, some intelligence, diplomatic, and other governmental personnel have reported experiencing unusual cognitive and neurological impairments while on assignment (particularly abroad), the source of which is currently under investigation. Symptoms were first reported by personnel stationed in Cuba and have since been collectively referred to as Havana Syndrome.
Cosponsors 16
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 19, 2021 to May 24, 2021; 14 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-ME | Angus S. King Jr. | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| R-NE | Ben Sasse | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| R-ID | James E. Risch | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| R-TX | John Cornyn | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| R-FL | Marco Rubio | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| D-VA | Mark R. Warner | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| R-NC | Richard Burr | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| R-MO | Roy Blunt | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| R-AR | Tom Cotton | Original | May 19, 2021 |
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | May 24, 2021 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | Referred May 19, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 19, 2021Introduced in Senate
- May 19, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2784)
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S2784 | Susan M. Collins R-ME | May 19, 2021 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1828 | HAVANA Act of 2021 | Related bill | Oct 8, 2021 |
| HR 3356 | HAVANA Act of 2021 | Related bill | May 19, 2021 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 to authorize the provision of payment to personnel of the Central Intelligence Agency who incur qualifying injuries to the brain, to authorize the provision of payment to personnel of the Department of State who incur similar injuries, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- HAVANA Act of 2021
- Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- Congressional oversight
- Department of State
- Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government Operations and Politics
- Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
- Neurological disorders
- Worker safety and health
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 19, 2021Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
