WHY DOES THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CONTINUE TO GIVE A SUICIDE– INDUCING DRUG TO VETERANS WITH POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER? HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JULY 9, 2008 Serial No. 110–96 Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 43–998 WASHINGTON : 2009 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:09 Feb 12, 2009 Jkt 043998 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\HR\OC\43998.XXX 43998 jbell on PROD1PC69 with HEARING COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS BOB FILNER, California, Chairman CORRINE BROWN, Florida STEVE BUYER, Indiana, Ranking VIC SNYDER, Arkansas CLIFF STEARNS, Florida MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine JERRY MORAN, Kansas STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN, South HENRY E. BROWN, JR., South Carolina Dakota JEFF MILLER, Florida HARRY E. MITCHELL, Arizona JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas JOHN J. HALL, New York GINNY BROWN-WAITE, Florida PHIL HARE, Illinois MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada BRIAN P. BILBRAY, California JOHN T. SALAZAR, Colorado DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, Texas GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida JOE DONNELLY, Indiana VERN BUCHANAN, Florida JERRY MCNERNEY, California STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana ZACHARY T. SPACE, Ohio TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota DONALD J. CAZAYOUX, JR., Louisiana MALCOM A. SHORTER, Staff Director Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public hearing records of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs are also published in electronic form. The printed hearing record remains the official version. Because electronic submissions are used to prepare both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process of converting between various electronic formats may introduce unintentional errors or omissions. Such occur- rences are inherent in the current publication process and should diminish as the process is further refined. ii VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:09 Feb 12, 2009 Jkt 043998 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 E:\HR\OC\43998.XXX 43998 jbell on PROD1PC69 with HEARING C O N T E N T S July 9, 2008 Page Why Does the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Continue to Give a Suicide-Inducing Drug to Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? .... 1 OPENING STATEMENTS Chairman Bob Filner ............................................................................................... 1 Prepared statement of Chairman Filner ........................................................ 82 Hon. Steve Buyer, Ranking Republican Member .................................................. 4 Prepared statement of Congressman Buyer ................................................... 83 Hon. John J. Hall ..................................................................................................... 7 Hon. Cliff Stearns .................................................................................................... 8 Hon. Phil Hare ......................................................................................................... 9 Hon. Steve Scalise ................................................................................................... 10 Prepared statement of Congressman Scalise ................................................. 85 Hon. Jerry McNerney .............................................................................................. 10 Hon. Timothy J. Walz .............................................................................................. 11 Hon. Harry E. Mitchell, prepared statement of .................................................... 85 Hon. John T. Salazar, prepared statement of ....................................................... 85 WITNESSES U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: Hon. James B. Peake, M.D., Secretary ........................................................... 33 Prepared statement of Secretary Peake ...................................................... 92 John D. Daigh, Jr., M.D., CPA, Assistant Inspector General for Healthcare Inspections, Office of Inspector General .................................. 72 Prepared statement of Dr. Daigh ................................................................ 108 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Paul Seligman, M.D., M.P.H, Associate Director of Safety Policy and Communication, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration ............... 40 Prepared statement of Dr. Seligman .............................................................. 101 Elliott, James G., Silver Spring, MD ..................................................................... 12 Prepared statement of Mr. Elliott ................................................................... 86 Pfizer Inc., New York, NY, Ponni Subbiah, M.D., M.P.H., Vice President, Medical Affairs ..................................................................................................... 69 Prepared statement of Dr. Subbiah ................................................................ 105 Soldiers for the Truth Foundation, Lieutenant Colonel Roger G. Charles, USMC (Ret.), Vice-Chairman, Board of Trustees, and Editor, DefenseWatch, on behalf of Eilhys England Hackworth, Chairperson, Board of Trustees, Soldiers for the Truth Foundation ...................................................................... 12 Prepared statement of Lieutenant Colonel Charles ...................................... 90 SUBMISSION FOR THE RECORD Koocher, Gerald P., Ph.D., Professor and Dean, School of Health Sciences, Simmons College, Boston, MA, statement ......................................................... 117 MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD Resolution: Adopted Resolution of the Committee Naming the Democratic Member- ship of the Standing Subcommittee on Health for the 110th Congress ... 119 Newspaper Articles: ‘‘VA Testing Drugs on War Veterans, Experiments Raise Ethical Ques- tions,’’ The Washington Times, by Audrey Hudson, June 17, 2008 .......... 119 iii VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:09 Feb 12, 2009 Jkt 043998 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 E:\HR\OC\43998.XXX 43998 jbell on PROD1PC69 with HEARING Page Newspaper Articles—Continued ‘‘Congress Demands VA Investigation, Obama, Pelosi, and Others Hit Drug Testing, The Washington Times, by Audrey Hudson and S.A. Miller, June 18, 2008 .................................................................................... 123 ‘‘Veterans as ‘Lab Rats’,’’ The Washington Times Editorial, June 18, 2008 124 ‘‘VA Reports More Chantix Effects, Study Participants Had 26 ‘Serious’ Events, The Washington Times, by Audrey Hudson and Amy Fagan, June 19, 2008 ................................................................................................ 125 ‘‘Doctors Raised Chantix Worries Last Year, Quiet Investigation Preceded Warnings by Months,’’ The Washington Times, by Audrey Hudson and Amy Fagan, July 8, 2008 ............................................................................. 127 Post Hearing Follow-up, Questions and Responses for the Record: Christine O. Hill, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to Hon. Bob Filner, Chairman, Committee on Vet- erans’ Affairs, letter dated July 18, 2008, and attached report entitled, ‘‘Quality of Care Concern, Veterans Integrated Service Network 5, Vet- erans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, DC,’’ Interim Report 2008- D-963, Office of the Medical Inspector, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, July 18, 2008, responding to a request from Congresswoman Berkley for follow-up information [The attached report will be retained in the Committee files due to confiden- tial personal information included in the report.] ...................................... 129 Hon. Bob Filner, Chairman, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, to James Elliott, Silver Spring, MD, letter dated July 14, 2008, and Mr. Elliott’s responses ....................................................................................................... 129 Hon. Bob Filner, Chairman, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, to Lieuten- ant Colonel Roger Charles, USMC (Ret.), Vice-Chairman, Soldiers for the Truth, letter dated July 14, 2008, and Colonel Charles’ responses ... 130 Hon. Bob Filner, Chairman, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, to Hon. James B. Peake, M.D., Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, letter dated July 14, 2008, and VA responses ............................................ 131 Hon. Bob Filner, Chairman, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, to Paul Seligman, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Director of Safety Policy and Com- munication, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, letter dated July 14, 2008, and response from Stephen R. Mason, Acting Assistant Commissioner for Legislation, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, letter dated September 16, 2008 .................................................................. 136 Hon. Bob Filner, Chairman, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, to Ponni Subbiah, M.D., M.P.H., Vice President, Medical Affairs, Pfizer Inc., letter dated July 14, 2008, and response letter dated August 20, 2008 [The attachment to the letter will be retained in the Committee files due to confidential