[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4386 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4386

  To amend title 38, United States Code, authorizing the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to provide compensation to veterans suffering from 
  disabilities resulting from illnesses attributed to service in the 
  Persian Gulf theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War, to 
provide for increased research into illnesses reported by Persian Gulf 
                 War veterans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 1994

Mr. Montgomery (for himself, Mr. Slattery, Mr. Rowland, Mr. Bilirakis, 
 Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Clement, Mr. Stearns, and Mr. Bishop) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, authorizing the Secretary of 
  Veterans Affairs to provide compensation to veterans suffering from 
  disabilities resulting from illnesses attributed to service in the 
  Persian Gulf theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War, to 
provide for increased research into illnesses reported by Persian Gulf 
                 War veterans, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' Persian Gulf War Benefits 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) During the Persian Gulf War, members of the Armed 
        Forces were exposed to numerous potentially toxic substances, 
        including fumes and smoke from military operations, oil well 
        fires, diesel exhaust, paints, pesticides, depleted uranium, 
        infectious agents, chemoprophylactic agents, and indigenous 
        diseases, and were also given multiple immunizations. Threats 
        of enemy use of chemical and biological warfare heightened the 
        psychological stress associated with the military operation.
            (2) Significant numbers of veterans of the Persian Gulf War 
        are suffering from illnesses, or are exhibiting symptoms of 
        illness, that cannot now be diagnosed or clearly defined. As a 
        result, many of these conditions or illnesses are not 
        considered to be service connected under current law for 
        purposes of benefits administered by the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs.
            (3) Scientists have concluded that the complex biological, 
        chemical, physical, and psychological environment of the 
        Southwest Asia theater of operations produced complex adverse 
        health effects in Persian Gulf War veterans and that it appears 
        that no single disease entity or syndrome exists. Rather, it 
        appears that the illnesses suffered by those veterans result 
        from multiple illnesses with overlapping symptoms and causes 
        that have yet to be defined.
            (4) In response to concerns regarding the health-care needs 
        of Persian Gulf War veterans, particularly those who suffer 
        from illnesses or conditions for which no diagnosis has been 
        made, the Congress, in Public Law 102-585, directed the 
        establishment of a Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Registry, 
        authorized health examinations for veterans of the Persian Gulf 
        War, and provided for the National Academy of Sciences to 
        conduct a comprehensive review and assessment of information 
        regarding the health consequences of military service in the 
        Persian Gulf theater of operations and to develop 
        recommendations on avenues for research regarding such health 
        consequences. In Public Law 103-210, the Congress authorized 
        the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide health care 
        services on a priority basis to Persian Gulf War veterans. The 
        Congress also provided in Public Law 103-160 (the National 
        Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994) for funding for 
        the establishment of a specialized environmental medical 
        facility for the conduct of research into the possible health 
        effects of exposure to low levels of hazardous chemicals 
        especially among Persian Gulf veterans and for research into 
        the possible health effects of battlefield exposure in such 
        veterans to depleted uranium.
            (5) Further research and studies must be undertaken to 
        determine the underlying causes of the illnesses suffered by 
        Persian Gulf War veterans and, pending the outcome of such 
        research, veterans who are seriously ill as the result of such 
        illnesses should be provided compensation benefits to offset 
        the impairment in earnings capacities they may be experiencing.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 
        provide compensation for a period not to exceed 3 years to 
        Persian Gulf War veterans who suffer disabilities resulting 
        from illnesses that cannot now be diagnosed or defined, and for 
        which other causes cannot be identified,
            (2) to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop 
        at the earliest possible date case assessment strategies and 
        definitions or diagnoses of such illnesses,
            (3) to promote greater outreach to Persian Gulf War 
        veterans and their families to inform them of the services and 
        benefits to which they are currently entitled, and
            (4) to ensure that research activities and accompanying 
        surveys of Persian Gulf War veterans are appropriately funded 
        and undertaken by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT OF CASE ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL, CASE DEFINITION, AND 
              OUTREACH PROGRAM FOR PERSIAN GULF WAR VETERANS.

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
shall--
            (1) develop and implement at the earliest possible date a 
        uniform case assessment protocol that will ensure thorough 
        assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of all Persian Gulf War 
        veterans suffering from illness attributed to service in the 
        Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf 
        War;
            (2) expedite efforts to develop case definitions or 
        diagnoses for illnesses associated with such service and seek 
        to complete development of such case definitions or diagnoses 
        at the earliest possible date; and
            (3) develop and implement a comprehensive outreach program 
        to inform Persian Gulf War veterans and their families of 
        health-care services, including comprehensive medical 
        evaluations for such veterans, or other benefits or services 
        that may be provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs or 
        the Department of Defense.

SEC. 5. COMPENSATION BENEFITS FOR DISABILITY RESULTING FROM ILLNESS 
              ATTRIBUTED TO SERVICE DURING THE PERSIAN GULF WAR.

    (a) In General.--(1) Chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end of subchapter I the following new section:
``Sec. 1117. Compensation for disabilities associated with Persian Gulf 
              War
    ``(a) The Secretary shall pay compensation under this subchapter to 
a Persian Gulf veteran suffering from a chronic disability resulting 
from an undiagnosed illness (or combination of undiagnosed illnesses) 
that became manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more within one year 
after the last date on which the veteran performed active military, 
naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations while 
on active duty.
    ``(b) A disability for which compensation under this subchapter is 
payable shall be considered to be service connected for purposes of all 
other laws of the United States.
    ``(c) Compensation may not be paid under this section with respect 
to a disability occurring in a veteran--
            ``(1) where there is affirmative evidence that the 
        disability was not incurred by the veteran during service in 
        the Persian Gulf theater of operations during the Persian Gulf 
        War; or
            ``(2) where there is affirmative evidence to establish that 
        an intercurrent injury or illness which is a recognized cause 
        of the disability was suffered by the veteran between the date 
        of the veteran's most recent departure from that theater of 
        operations while on active duty and the onset of the 
        disability.
    ``(d) The Secretary may not make payments under this section with 
respect to a disability for which compensation is paid under this 
section for any month after the month during which the Secretary 
determines that such disability is not related to service in the 
Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War.
    ``(e) For purposes of this section, the term `Persian Gulf veteran' 
means a veteran who served on active duty in the Armed Forces in the 
Southwest Asia theater of operations during the period beginning on 
August 2,1990, and ending on the date of the enactment of this section.
    ``(f) No payment may be made under this section for any month that 
begins after the end of the three-year period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this section.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1116 the 
following new item:

``1117. Presumption of service connection for illnesses associated with 
                            Persian Gulf War.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 1117 of title 38, United States Code, 
as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on October 1, 1994.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR PERSIAN GULF ILLNESS 
              RESEARCH.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995 through 1997 
for the conduct of research, which the Secretary, in consultation with 
the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, determines would advance understanding of health risks and 
effects of service during the Persian Gulf War and effective means of 
treating such health effects.

SEC. 7. SURVEY OF PERSIAN GULF VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Department of Veterans Affairs $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1995 for the 
conduct of a survey of Persian Gulf veterans to gather information on 
the incidence and nature of health problems occurring in Persian Gulf 
veterans and their families.
    (b) Coordination With Department of Defense.--The survey shall be 
carried out in coordination with the Secretary of Defense.
    (c) Persian Gulf Veteran.--For purposes of this section, a Persian 
Gulf veteran is an individual who served on active duty in the Armed 
Forces in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian 
Gulf War as defined in section 101(33) of title 38, United States Code.

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