- President Joe Biden signed the $768 billion defense-spending bill into law on Monday.
- It includes $30 million for victims of
Havana syndrome , believed to be caused by directed energy.
The $768 billion US defense-spending bill that President Joe Biden signed into law on Monday includes a $30 million provision for victims of Havana syndrome, a mysterious illness that officials believe is the result of directed-energy attacks by a hostile state.
The text of the National Defense Authorization Act shows a $30 million increase in funding for care for "anomalous health incidents," a term the US government uses to describe the syndrome.
US officials in Havana, Cuba, in 2016 first reported unexplained symptoms including migraines, hearing loss, and cognitive difficulties. About 200 US officials around the world have since reported symptoms of the illness, which is the subject of an investigation by federal authorities.
US investigators and lawmakers are said to increasingly believe the syndrome is the result of directed-energy attacks perpetrated by a hostile state such as Russia. There is no evidence linking Russia to the attacks, however, and Moscow has denied that it is responsible for any such attacks.
The funding will be used to implement a bill written by Republican Sen. Susan Collins called the Havana Act that was enacted in October. It authorized the CIA and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to provide extra financial support to American officials who incurred brain injuries likely from directed-energy attacks, Collins' office said.
"U.S. diplomats and members of the intelligence community who work both at home and abroad make many personal sacrifices to represent and protect America's interests," Collins said in a statement. "They deserve our strong support when they are harmed in the line of duty just as we care for our soldiers when they are injured on the battlefield."
A National Academy of Sciences report published last year found that "directed, pulsed radio frequency energy" was the most likely cause of the mysterious illness.
Some scientists have suggested the symptoms might be psychosomatic. The neurologist Robert Baloh has suggested they could be the result of mass hysteria.
The Senate Intelligence Committee in October backed the National Academy of Sciences' report, Politico reported.
Sen. Marco Rubio, who sits on the committee, rejected claims that the syndrome was psychosomatic, telling Politico, "I think that's quackery."
"I'd invite them to explain that to the now-dozens of people who have suffered documented brain injuries that in many cases have made them incapable of ever working again," he said.