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THE SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments Or. Susan Mather has shared with me your April 5 response to our comments on the partial draft of the Advisory Committee's final report. As you know, we examined the questions surrounding the Atomic Medicine Division in good faith. The Inspector General (IG) had no ulterior motive when it could not find evidence to support the contention that a "secret" Atomic Medicine Division eber operated at VA. We sought from the Oepartments of Energy and Defense any records fhey might have that would shed light in this area. Neither had uncovered such information in their searches. The volume of the records we cannot account for in detail is far too small to have constituted the defense against liability claims that you suggest they might have been. We are now convinced, based on the balance of evidence, that while the Division was conceived. it was never born. Some of the report's references to the Division may not constitute "factual error" in a legalistic sense, but they promote a false inference - that VA acted to keep information hidden for less-thanappropriate purposes. I know you would agree that the Committee's final product should not be marred by what appears to be innuendo; clarity and truthfulness must be paramount, The clarifications we suggested are critical from this standpoint, so we appreciate incorporation of the requested clarification in the latest draft of the ACHRE final report (Chapter 5, page 53). Each reference to the "confidential Atomic Medicine Division" should be accompanied (via footnote or parenthetical addition) by a similar clarification. Dr. Mather will be pleased to work with you as necessary to ensure the needed revisions are made. Chief of Staff