0:03:12

turn on your mic he would really appreciate it because he's our recorder so he really appreciates it when you turn on your mic um

0:33:34

the hearing will now come to order I ask unanimous consent that the chair be authorized to declare a recess at any time without objection so ordered and I ask unanimous consent that members may have five legislative days to revise and

0:33:45

extend the remarks without objection so ordered I want to welcome everyone to this hearing of the military personnel subcommittee today we convene to address a matter of Paramount importance how the Department of Defense monitoring of

0:34:00

covid-19 has impacted our military ranks and the implications of the covid-19 vaccine on the health and well-being of our servicemen and women over the past four years the covid-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to

0:34:17

our nation and its Armed Forces as the virus has become just another part of the yearly flu season we need to look with clear eyes and healthy skep ISM at how the department handled the pandemic the effects of the virus and vaccines on

0:34:33

our service members health and if the Department's policies and practices actually mitigated any risk to service members and their families many service members and their families are concerned with the safety and value of the

0:34:47

covid-19 MRNA vaccine prompting questions about adverse reactions and unforeseen circumstances most concerningly related to heart conditions and hypertension in a young military population and the data is worrying in 2022 we saw heart rated

0:35:08

conditions like hypertension and cardio mopy myopathy among service members increased by 47% and 94% respectively over DOD averages in addressing this pandemic there is no doubt that the department has made mistakes and that some decisions were

0:35:28

made for political gain rather than based on science in fact so today we seek Clarity for the service members who took the covid-19 vaccine for their families and for everyone's future health and well-being we seek to understand the extent to which the

0:35:45

Department of Defense has monitored the impact of covid-19 on our military personnel including any potential correlation between the virus itself and the development of medical conditions moreover we aim to examine the data

0:36:00

surrounding the administration of the covid-19 vaccine within our ranks evaluating its safety profile and any observed Trends in adverse reactions and health outcomes as stewards of our nation's defense it is incumbent upon us

0:36:17

to ensure the well-being of those who wear the uniform we owe it to our service members to provide them with the best possible care and support especially times of Crisis by convening this hearing we demonstrate our commitment to transparency

0:36:32

accountability and above all the health and safety of our military Community I would like to welcome our Witnesses Dr Lester Martinez Lopez the assistant secretary of defense for health Affairs at the Department of Defense and Dr Shauna

0:36:49

stalman senior epidemiologist of the Armed Forces Health surveillance division at the defense health agency Public Public Health thank you for being here today I hope this hearing provides us an opportunity for our members to

0:37:02

have a productive exchange beh before hearing from our Witnesses let me offer ranking member takuda an opportunity to make any opening remarks thank you Mr chair thank you to our Witnesses for being here today and providing testimony regarding the

0:37:18

Department of defense's Health surveillance efforts which includes monitoring Health threats and emerging infections bios surveillance and epidemiological Analysis to include the impacts of infections and vaccines as a

0:37:30

member of the House select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic I am not unfamiliar with efforts to politicize science behind vaccines to the detriment of Public Health and National Security I cannot emphasize enough the importance

0:37:42

of using a fact-driven science-based approach to this conversation today let's focus on the facts safe and effective covid-19 vaccine options have been readily available since 2021 according to the CDC in the first 10

0:37:54

months that covid-19 vaccines were were available they saved over 200,000 lives and prevented over 1.5 million hospitalizations in the United States this is the purpose of these vaccines to save lives and prevent severe illness

0:38:08

while the military covid-19 vaccine requirement was rescinded in January 2023 96% of the active and Reserve force over 1.9 million people safely received one or more doses of a co9 vaccine vaccine requirements have long-standing

0:38:23

precedent in our Armed Forces since the founding of the US military vaccine requirements have been necessary to preserve military Readiness and personal safety from GE General George Washington's smallpox vaccination of the

0:38:36

Continental Army in 1777 to the flu vaccine requirement in the mid 20th century today the department administers as many as 17 different vaccinations and while it was in effect the covid-19 vaccination requirement helped ensure

0:38:49

that our Armed Forces remain healthy and medically ready service members that have received covid-19 vaccines have done so under the most intense safety monitoring program in United States history the CDC the FDA and other

0:39:02

Federal Partners use multiple passive and active surveillance systems and data sources to conduct comprehensive safety monitoring of covid-19 vaccines and the Department of Defense conducts near realtime monitoring and research on the

0:39:15

impacts of covid-19 vaccinations and infections through the military health system studies continue to show that the benefits of covid-19 vaccines outweigh the risk yet concern and apprehension regarding the safety of covid-19

0:39:28

vaccinations do still exist this may be in due in large part to a fundamental misunderstanding of the Department's covid-19 vaccine surveillance data which has unfortunately been the subject of misleading news stories over the past

0:39:42

year the department of defense's monitoring efforts of covid-19 have reported a small number of increases in adverse health effects following the covid-19 vaccine requirement but correlation does not imply causation legitimate questions remain as to the

0:39:56

root cause of these identified adverse health effects the overarching question for today's panel is one of paramont importance are there long-term effects from covid-19 on our service members and if so how do we discern whether any

0:40:10

increase in reported adverse health effects are attributable to the virus itself or to the vaccine to address this question comprehensively we must approach today's discussion with scientific rigor ensuring that we prioritize the health and safety of our

0:40:24

all volunteer Force as a whole above all else as we navigate the complexities of this issue we must acknowledge the profound impact that the covid-19 pandemic has had on the operational Readiness of our Armed Forces first and

0:40:37

foremost the pandemic resulted in thousands of hospitalizations across the department and the tragic loss of hundreds of lives it also had far-reaching second and third order effects on our military including disruptions in training exercises and

0:40:50

Employments the mobilization of military medical personnel to support civilian pandemic response efforts and and negative impacts to military family quality of life issues like delays and move child care and Health Care access

0:41:03

at the heart of today's discussion regarding the Department's monitoring of covid-19 Lies a fundamental commitment to the health and well-being of our service members that must ultimately include a shared dedication to transparency and facts grounded in

0:41:16

scientific evidence Mr chairman I'd like to request that the department of defense's report on cardiac and kidney issues and service members prior to and following the covid vaccine requirement be included the record for today's

0:41:28

hearing thank you Mr chair Congress required this report in fiscal year 23 ndaa and it serves as an example of the careful and thoughtful monitoring the department is doing thank you again Mr chair for this hearing and I look

0:41:41

forward to our witness testimony and their responses uh to questions that will be posed today I yield the balance of my time thank you I understand that uh you have one Consolidated opening statement we respectfully request that

0:41:53

you summarize your testimony in 5 minutes or less your written comments and statements Will Made part of the will be made part of the hearing record following opening statements each member will have an opportunity to question the

0:42:03

witnesses for a very liberal five minutes um with that Dr Martinez Lopez you may make your opening statement chairman Banks ranking member Duda distinguished members of the subcommittee we were pleased to represent the office of the Secretary of

0:42:23

Defense to discuss the Department's ongoing Health surveillance of the force related to covid-19 in the aftermath of the global pandemic this testimony provides the committee with information on some key some of the key data used to track the

0:42:40

health of service members and provides updates on some past and future studies related to the impact of covid-19 on the health of the service members service members like all members of our nation experience the effects of

0:42:56

of the global covid-19 pandemic however unlike the civilian population when service members particularly those deployed or un operational units became sick with covid-19 it impacts National Security this is an unacceptable risk

0:43:18

for the military and our nation as part of force Health protection the Department of Defense took actions to blond the impact of the pandemic on the force and to maintain operational Readiness this was achieved primarily

0:43:34

through Force sell protection measures like vaccinations testing masking symptom symptom monitoring and remote work work these actions saved lives and resulted in less severe disease and fear fewer hospitalization among those

0:43:53

service members that were infected nevertheless the impact of covid-19 lingers with some Semi Service members and Veterans like just like many other Americans are experiencing the long-term effect of covid-19 infections including

0:44:12

lung Co and heart related conditions as we seek to keep the total Force healthy and on Mission the department monitors for infectious diseases and a range of other health threats we do this through a dedicated staff with po Health commands collocated

0:44:33

with military units around the world in addition we have a team of analysts evaluating the data for Trends and investigating any signal that are identified one of the primary tools this health threats analyst use to answer

0:44:50

complex epidemiological questions is a relational database called the defense medical surveillance system or dmss as the central repository of medical surveillance data for the US armed forces the MSS contain upto-date and historical data on diseases and

0:45:12

medical events including impatient and ambulatory medical encounters immunizations prescriptions laboratory data and deployment Health assessment and Casualty data to enhance our ability to identify signals in the noise of infectious

0:45:31

disease data we have related capability to a dmss called the defense medical epidemiology database or demat DED using it proper context is a useful tool tool for DOD medical and poly health professionals to monitor Health Trends

0:45:52

among their local populations and identify potential issues that require further inquiry or research the dod's data is compelling in looking at the impact of vaccine the Department's data show that unvaccinated individuals with

0:46:10

a reported covid-19 infection we at sign significantly higher risk of developing three cardiac conditions myocarditis pericarditis and acute myocardial infection compared to individual who receive a covid vaccine further the dod

0:46:30

data showed that among the 31 active duty service members who died from covid-19 none of them were fully vaccinated now today four years after the emergence of SARS covid 2 virus it continues to circulate in our military

0:46:48

communities and evolve into new variants presenting an ongoing Health threat capable of harming harming service members and affecting operations the department remains committed to protecting the health of the force and to better understand these

0:47:05

impacts as we prepare for future health threats our ongoing studies will support the development of Therapeutics and medical counter measures we will also continue to evaluate the relationship between covid-19 infection or covid-19

0:47:23

vaccinations and cardiac conditions through surveillance and research our ongoing data surveillance will help inform future DOD policy on Force Health protection improve Readiness and help prepare for and mitigate against future

0:47:40

health threats thank you for inviting us here today to speak with you about the Department's Health Data which enables our ongoing surveillance of the impact of the covid-19 and the force and the health of the force we look for forward

0:47:56

to answering your questions thank you for your opening statement I'll begin with questions and yield myself five minutes Dr Martinez Lopez I I find it convenient that in the report to Congress you cited in your testimony and the the same report that

0:48:12

the minority just entered into the record that the researchers chose to use 45 days as the at risk period following a covid-19 infection but only 21 days for the risk period following the covid-19 vaccination especially when the

0:48:30

administration and the the B Administration CDC told everyone that you weren't considered immune immediately after the shot seems to me like you were skewing the data to make it fit what you wanted the conclusion to be by doing that and

0:48:46

to justify your use of the vaccine you also admitted that the sample sizes are inaccurate due to Under reporting so H how are we to to trust the department and the Biden Administration for that that yall are being honest when it reaches a

0:49:02

conclusion that all of these medical problems were due to the infection and not the vaccine Mr chairman uh as a retired Soldier and now giving the opportunity to serve the safety the health and the Readiness of the force and the service

0:49:19

members is most important to me uh the the data is very clear you know that you have higher risk of developing these conditions if you got just got the disease without the vaccine the vaccine doesn't exempt you from getting some of

0:49:38

these comp complications but it really does decrease the risk to the service members uh I would defer to Dr stalman on the 45 versus the the timeline differential sure thank you as an epidemiologist with the DHA I am concerned as well with the

0:50:01

health and wellness of our service members and we take reports of any increase in medical conditions that are potentially due to the vaccine or to the virus seriously in that report we worked with uh cardiologists Specialists within DHA

0:50:15

to determine the best risk window to use when looking at an adverse event in relation to the vaccine or to the virus if you're looking at an event due to vaccine say 5 years later it becomes less likely that that event is actually

0:50:31

due to the vaccine because you've accumulated much more exposures over time so in talking with cardiologists and SME and in the work that the immunization healthare division has done in clinically following the myocarditis

0:50:44

and pericarditis cases within DOD we knew that most myocarditis and pericarditis cases when they occur due to result of vaccine will occur within 21 days after the vaccine we also know in working with cardiologist experts

0:51:00

within DOD that if you're going to have a mar carditis or pericarditis event following covid-19 infection it's most likely to show up within that 45-day period so we chose that period because we're using administrative data we were

0:51:15

not able to go in to confirm um that the event was clinically ruled out due to some other condition so using administrative data you have to use a risk window period so that it's likely you're looking at an event that's due to your

0:51:30

exposure okay so on that point um either one of you can can you tell me how many new cases of myocarditis there were among among active duty service members in 2020 thank you um there are around 100 to 200 cases of new myocarditis among active component

0:51:56

service members each year what about 2020 obviously you track this we do but I do not have that exact number in front of me okay so according to DOD data obtained by Senator Ron Johnson there were 275 new myor carditis cases among active service members in

0:52:19

2021 which is a a a 151% uh more than an average over the 5 years prior um and the reason I bring that up is because I I asked your office before this hearing to give me that specific number and you gave me the 20 you instead of giving me the 2020 numbers

0:52:38

you gave me the 2021 numbers so it's very it's very suspicious why you wouldn't have that data available and you have the exact you had you had an exact answer for me for 2021 thank you we do have the number I do not have it in front of me it takes

0:52:58

our analysts time to write programming code to pull the data it then has to be reviewed by an epidemiologist to ensure that the code is accurate that the output is accurate and we will get you those numbers can you at least remember

0:53:12

if there were fewer cases of myocarditis in 2020 than what there were in 2021 I mean I believe they were higher in 2021 than in 2022 as the report that was the question the DD report on cardiac and kidney issues shows there was more than a 10 times

0:53:31

increase rate in myocarditis among active component service members who had a recent covid-19 infection compared to a 2.6 increase rate among active component service members who had recently received the covid-19 vaccine um I'm going to yield five

0:53:47

minutes to miss Tuda thank you Mr chair just some um basic question questions perhaps so that we get a better understanding of the the research and the data that CH folks have been doing what does DOD currently use the dmss the defense medical

0:54:04

surveillance system and dmed uh defense medical epid epidemiological database data for I'm just trying to get an understanding of the regular practical uses of the data Beyond research congresswoman uh we take very seriously I mean data to formulate

0:54:23

policy is critical to us especially when it comes to clinical policy so I'm not the expert I would defer but I I'll open up saying we have two system we have multiple system the two Key Systems is the D MSS the defense medical

0:54:38

surveillance system that's a uh a relational database that Encompass pretty much all the health many of the health care points of every service member since I think since 1990 and then we have another system it's called DM the defense medical

0:54:56

epidemiological database that's not a database that's a web- based uh tool that actually can perform queries into the D MSS but it's really for the field that's that information is not identifiable for a particular patient so

0:55:14

it's that it gives you gives the people in the field an idea that something may be happening and that's what we want but then if you have a question about something happening then we have to do further St studies using the other

0:55:26

system the dmss but I'll defer to Dr Alman if she wants to expand yes thank you dmed is used um more as hypothesis generating it allows users to do certain limited canned queries of the data the default output if you do a a que a query on dmed

0:55:49

looking at um a certain ICD diagnostic code from a drop- down list that you can choose the default output that it will give you are uh include numbers of outpatient encounters uh with diagnoses made in the first diagnostic position so

0:56:06

it's a useful tool to get a quick idea of how common um we're seeing how uh commonly we're seeing encounters for certain conditions uh can also do uh very basic population level queries it does not contain any information about a

0:56:23

vaccine um the defense medical surveillance system is used by Health analysts at the Armed Forces Health surveillance division uh to do Comprehensive Health surveillance uh for service members it's the data source that feeds the dmed so dmed is refreshed

0:56:42

uh on a approximately monthly basis with data from the dmss uh but just a um a limited uh amount of those data okay thank you that differentiation is very helpful you know I think part part of it is while dmed seems to be more of that

0:56:57

open source that you have it is also very um it's it's very limited and if people do not understand that in fact it is an aggregated it's an aggregated data set it's not disaggregated um you know obviously because you have privacy

0:57:13

issues although you could potentially um de Identify some of that but because it is not um disaggregated out you really can't differentiate between new encounters follow-up encounters I believe that's something that you've

0:57:25

referenced in your testimony that this dmed is very much limited potentially open to misinterpretation of results for those that are using it um to you know in the field to try to figure out if something is happening so my question

0:57:38

would be given that it's subject to misinterpretation and it's very limited in its scope because it is aggregated has there been conversations about perhaps making DM more of a disaggregated type of system so that you

0:57:48

can get trer results if you're actually using it um I mean if not it's always going to be subject to potential misinterpretation by the users or limited by user understanding of the data that's um within it Congress I think the intent of the D

0:58:05

is to have it available across the force as a first trigger words you have a question you have a query but my guess my concern is you have it as a first trigger but if the user is unsophisticated to understand that is limited what you're going to have out

0:58:19

there is misinformation and false assumptions so I do feel that we have to make sure when we do have these data sets that it gives the most accurate information possible um and is as user friendly as possible I think right now

0:58:31

the way dmed is um you know it is great that it's there but I think it is going to be subject to more misinformation and false assumptions being made uh if users are unaware of its limitations uh and misinterpreting the data that they're

0:58:43

getting from it I know chair I'm almost out of my time so I'll just yield back to you thank you yield uh five minutes to Mr Gates Dr Martinez Lopez is the Department of Defense covering up vaccine injuries Congressman no so who is Lieutenant Ted

0:59:04

Macy a congressman I I don't know the lieutenant well it's sort of the reason we're here on November 27th 2023 Navy medical Corps officer Lieutenant Ted Macy shared a video on X where he expressed grave concern for his patients

0:59:20

suffering after receiving the covid-19 vaccine and according to Lieutenant Macy he tried reporting the dod data from the dmed system to his superiors and he was subsequently silenced and punished he lost access to the dmed system he's been

0:59:37

removed from seeing his patients and has been relegated to some broom closet somewhere to continue his service it seems to me that Lieutenant Macy has suffered more than the people who screwed up the dmed system so why is

0:59:51

this person being punished for trying to showcase data that was alarming Congressman I'm not prepared to talk about specifics on the lieutenant because I really don't know but I'll be glad to entertain uh answer any questions regarding the

1:00:07

system of the vaccines and our findings well right but part of the system in the vaccines and how we conduct oversight is that if there are whistleblowers who say that you're not doing your job right and if there are whistleblowers concerned

1:00:19

about a cover up you have to there's a process by which that has to get to the Inspector General and be reviewed and in the case of Lieutenant Macy's concerns those languished for like more than 5 months do you have any reason why a

1:00:34

request made through the chain of command to view this data that could illuminate concerns over vaccine injuries was smothered again Congressman I'm not prepared to talk details let's get to what you're prepared to talk about let's get to the

1:00:50

actual data that's so concerning since the people who raise concerns about the data they get punished and we don't seem to remember them uh the the hypertensive diseases up 23% when you compare the 2016 to 2020 averages to cases in 2021 does that does

1:01:09

that sound right that sounds right so okay so hypertensive diseas is up 23% then ovarian dysfunction up 35% does that sound right I'm not specific that can we does that sound right Dr stallman I think you're referencing um something

1:01:30

from an older document but it could be oh I I'm referencing data from the defense medical surveillance system is that a system that you're both familiar with yes okay so that system says that hypertensive diseas is up 23% ovarian dysfunction up

1:01:50

35% pulmonary embolisms which as we all know can kill you up 43% myo cardus as chairman Banks was describing up 151% is it is it really your testimony that these massive spikes in these serious ailments are a consequence of

1:02:11

Contracting covid is is that your best medical opinion Congressman uh not all but I mean many of them obviously were in dysfunction there are the reasons inai there's the reasons but yes there's an infl there's a correlation not only from

1:02:28

our data from but the data of CDC that yes correlate Co with having higher likelihood of having paron me for not treating the CDC not the varant one but but the the other the vaccine or the virus the both the the VIR the virus and

1:02:46

you know like the cardiomyopathy is a little bit higher the risk is much higher if you just get the disease but you have an High an enhanced risk not as big as when you get the infection but you do get some risk from getting the vacine it's

1:03:02

minimal well yes so so there is vaccine risk associated with hypertensive diseases right a hypertension help me out no not that I'm aware of but okay well how about ovarian dysfunction n that I'm aware of and how about pulmonary embolisms yes okay so so

1:03:23

you're here giving us testimony that the vaccine increases someone's risk of pulmonary UL no pulmonary UL the the covid virus does in no I'm I'm I'm asking about the vaccine no the vaccine no not that I know of no and and and

1:03:35

myocarditis you think there is a risk a slightly higher risk but it's much higher that if when you get the the virus itself when you get infected and and to to tease out those data distinctions wouldn't it be responsible to assess these

1:03:54

conditions in people who got the disease and were unvaccinated versus the people who got the disease and were vaccinated has that type of an analysis been done we did look at this in the dod report on cardiac and kidney

1:04:12

conditions the information stratified by all the different ways vaccinated not vaccinated uh those are not all included in the report I do have the data on that when we reported the uh 10 times increase rate due to um recent infection

1:04:28

that is adjusting for vaccination status it's also adjusting for demographic risk factors including age sex and BMI right so did that analyze ovarian dysfunction it did not did it analyze pulmonary embolisms it did not and did it analyze hypertensive

1:04:48

diseases it did not well I mean we got thousands more people than the average in 2021 getting hypertensive diseases thousands more people getting ovarian dysfunction thousands more people or I'm sorry hundreds more people uh getting these uh

1:05:06

these pulmonary embolisms what what's the case against analyzing those conditions that have seen these increases in the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated We are continuing to do surveillance on these conditions and we are opening open to doing additional

1:05:28

work on this with chronic conditions it is tricky to look at that in relation to a vaccine is a pulmonary embolism a chronic condition or is it an acute condition we can look at acute condition yeah p i you know you your medical

1:05:42

knowledge goes far beyond mine but I would consider a pulmonary embolism acute not chronic with hypertension it could be difficult uh to get causal evidence to link that to the vaccine but yes we can look at aute out right but see that's

1:05:55

what that's how you get the causal evidence the reason there are people concerned that the dod is engaging in a coverup here is because you seem to be willfully and purposefully ignorant to those comparisons on these ailments that

1:06:07

are that are skyrocketing now for pregnant women for people who get pulmonary embolisms for people with hypertension and in the one area you've looked myocarditis you're here giving testimony that that actually causes this

1:06:21

increased risk factor and so Mr chairman I I hope we continue to follow up on this because my deep concern is that there is a cover up here and that they're playing games with the data so that we can't actually assess whether

1:06:33

it's the vaccine or the ailment that is causing these acute conditions and I mean wouldn't it be a tragic thing to have to discover that we hurt people with the vaccine more so than the virus did with the ailment particularly in a

1:06:47

condition where now the CDC whose opinion I guess we treat like the gospel is saying that you oh you just should quantin for 24 hours after you're done with your fever so they have evolving sensibilities on this and the only way

1:07:00

we get to the bottom of it is is the that data comparison I thank the chair's Indulgence and I yield back thank you agreed it's why we asked for the 2020 figures and I I didn't ask you on the record before but will you please will

1:07:10

you submit the 2020 uh figures to the committee can we take that for the record yes sir okay Mr moand thank you Mr chairman uh Dr Martinez Lopez uh and by the way thank you for your service in the military appreciate that and uh our Guard unit back in Guam

1:07:33

air and army were also very responsive to the covid-19 situation they played a big role and supporting our Island and our agitant general uh he has a lot of medical background too he's a surgeon he's a surgeon as well uh he's really

1:07:50

concerned now we need to be ready for the next public health emergency Guam after all we're in opon region we're the most western territory um we need to protect our community and our and our troops so what I need to know is your

1:08:05

interest in the Indo pom area specifically in Guam to support our Our National Guard and Air Force out there uh because them they need to be properly staffed so I need to know your interest in that and making sure the training is

1:08:20

up to date and equipped as well so we can have we'll be for the next pandemic Health Emergency Congressman we are actually I'm intimately involved with the issues of Guam I'm very concerned about that my concern is that we have

1:08:35

the systems not only for reserve and guard for for the many active duty that we have in gu and family members uh we are concerned about bios surveillance making sure it's not just about Co not not only about the things we know but

1:08:49

the things that we may not know coming about and we want to make sure that a we detect them early and number two we have a response mechanism to amarate whatever threat comes in one way or any other way I appreciate your concern and your

1:09:05

continuous interest in the Endo pcom specifically Guam thank thank you for that another question doctor uh what do you and Admiral Valdez need to safeguard the defense Health agency's ability to support the military Readiness if we

1:09:19

were enter a conflict in Indo Pacific while ensuring patients do not experience a lap in care what steps are you taking with stakeholders or Doctors Hospitals and Ang Guam to prepare for future conflicts we're way out there we

1:09:35

have no support from the mland time and S the Ence please uh Congressman Lieutenant General Crossland just came from the theater went to visit Guam and visited with many of the civilian and Military leadership on the island to

1:09:50

address the medical she's a director of the defense health agency uh and she came back with a report you know to trying to understand she understood what the issues are now we working through how we going to counter whatever gaps she found on her trip this

1:10:08

has to be a two-way conversation with not only the military leadership it has to be with the civilian leadership of the Island Medical in the medical aspects so we make sure that at least that we do our best to be in a good

1:10:22

position to resp respond to any needs that that is in particular our service members and family members need very good and final question doctor currently the US Army Reserve on Guam carries out Innovative Readiness training mission in

1:10:38

one of the villages jigo to provide medical care to my community efforts like this are important for building goodwi between the people of Guam and the military especially as the department plans to station increasing

1:10:51

numbers of personnel on Island what can be done to expand efforts like this this is very good for our community as well Congressman yeah is in our interest to a to you know have our troops ready and prepared to do the care they're going to be asked to do

1:11:13

in combat the way we achieve that is by seeing patients and taking care of patients if there is an opportunity you know a mutual Opportunity by providing care to the to local communities we also enhance our skill sets as clinicians

1:11:31

that's a win-win for the department and our neighbors so our we are pursuing this not only in Guan we're pursuing this across the country in those places where we can have a mutually agreeable and acceptable uh benefit then we're going

1:11:48

to exactly go in that direction and I hope that there will be many opportunities in one I'm just to do do that I appreciate that and I look forward to working with you closely on how we can assist as well so thank you for your efforts thank you Mr

1:12:02

chairman thank you Mr chairman I appreciate you both being here although I must say there is a growing Trend within the dod that my colleagues recognize as well where people come here unprepared to be able to have the substantiated data that we require and

1:12:15

that we've requested to make sure that we're able to get the answers and follow up this is not the first time so I hope that in future hearings you'll actually make that we have the subsequent data that we're trying to ask for and all the

1:12:27

algorithms and all the other data planning has actually gone forth uh I want to start out with the fact that you know kind of following along one of my colleagues Mr Gates's testimony where he talks about how many people have been

1:12:38

impacted negatively whether it be by myocarditis whether it be by ovarian issues whatever the case may be in addition to those who are unconstitutionally purged out of our military for religious and medical freedom that they should have been

1:12:54

afforded so I I just want to say for the record do either one of you have a an an opinion an objective opinion on whether or not you feel that medical and religious freedoms should be a key element for all members of our Armed

1:13:10

Forces Congressman DOD is committed to protect religious uh Liberties uh as you know there's a process to request actually I do know that process by the way and I got to say if it was actually to be true would be impressive because

1:13:25

on average they were able to adjudicate through six individual layers per the under Secretary of Readiness who is here in less than five minutes imagine the ability to reach out to a minister to a priest to other religious figures who

1:13:39

they actually are trying to get this uh counsil from or looking at their independent medical you know background from historical Medical Data from their families and being able to determine that in five minutes I can tell you as a

1:13:52

person who now works for the federal government we are not that efficient if anything it would take us about 5 weeks to be able to do so but they were adjudicating these in less than five minutes do you think that they could

1:14:03

adequately adjudicate a medical or religious exemption within five minutes or less Congressman I had to defer to the services that exe that executed that for us you know there has been an admission to the significant errors in

1:14:17

the defense medical epidemiology database that disordered the true numbers of medical encounter faced by service members how can you be certain this issue has been satisfactorily rectified as to not continue to mislead the American

1:14:33

public thank you I could take that we do take data accuracy accuracy seriously we know that data goes into making decisions about health care that's provided to service members when we became aware of the uh programming error that was done in dmed

1:14:51

uh this was in January 2022 the error by the way was an analyst had used a count function instead of a sum function which led to the data that existed between 20 uh 2016 and 2020 to be corrupted that error was immediately

1:15:09

corrected since then we've implemented both additional Technical and functional controls so on the technical side they're doing additional QC steps we've also implemented a functional team that's doing additional quality

1:15:21

assurance checks um on a per iotic basis so this is for both of you and I I'd really like to hear your thoughts on this uh Uniform service members were expelled from the military and punished for standing up for their personal

1:15:34

rights how do we ensure that they are properly compensated for rightfully expressing these rights how do we address the discrimination and mental drain that these individuals have faced and continue to Face by things such as

1:15:47

giving them a general discharge as opposed to honorable also the dod forcing individuals to pay back their bonuses where they did not separate from the military at their free will they were forced out of the military what

1:16:00

would be your recommendations and how we would adequately compensate these individuals unconstitutionally purged by the way almost 9,000 who was unconstitutionally purged in addition to the 41,000 recruitment deficit is pretty

1:16:12

significant for the largest volunteer force in the world Congressman uh as you probably know all those service members have the right to appeal the discharge to the services Dr Martinez Lopez we have seen where many of them had tried to appeal

1:16:30

this and in many cases wasn't actually given any answer whatsoever again we can adjudicate things in five minutes whenever we're denying people their medical and freedom religious rights but we can't actually adjudicate something

1:16:44

quickly where it should be a simple thing that if you did not exit the service for something which was disciplinary and and reasoning not not MediCal and religious freedom but disciplinar and US UCMJ Article 15 or above Court marshaling then I don't

1:17:00

understand how we can at least acknowledge the fact that this is unconstitutionally purged and at least given the opportunity under honorable discharge as opposed to a general where in many cases this plagues them and follows on in their careers and in

1:17:12

future jobs but that still doesn't answer the bottom question which is that these individuals and my personal opinion I I know there's others on this committee that don't feel the same way should be compensated they should have

1:17:23

their benefits restored they should have their original rank reinstated for those who actually still want to serve our country not a political agenda that is placed before us and they should be given the rights that they were actually

1:17:35

denied would you not at least admit to the fact that these people who are trying to serve as you have served and as I have served should be denied these rights or be given these rights Congressman uh you know we have processes in and there laws and

1:17:53

processes in the in the system uh I hope that the services who you know I I'm confident the services are doing their their best to exercise those uh procedures to to look at the at each case in particular I appreciate that you have

1:18:13

the confidence I wish that I had that and shared that same confidence levels but under the uh director you know direction of someone like uh secretary Lloyd Austin I have very little when you talk about the D elction of Duty that

1:18:26

has been placed forth and the prioritization of things that are not to the military Armed Forces as benefits with that I yield back thank you I want to thank uh Mr Gates who just left the room uh for requesting this hearing I think it's a

1:18:40

really important uh conversation the type of oversight that this committee should be doing more of it's important that we work together to differentiate between the rise of medical conditions due to covid-19 the infection or the covid-19

1:18:56

vaccination this effort is vital for guiding Public Health responses informing treatment and management strategies monitoring vaccine safety and maintaining the public trust in immunization programs by by systematically investigating and

1:19:13

addressing these concerns policy makers and healthc Care Professionals can effectively Safeguard public health and the health of our men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line for this great country I want to thank

1:19:26

both of our Witnesses uh again and thank you for providing your testimony and answering our questions this afternoon want to thank the members who participated there being no further business the subcommittee stands adjourned

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