[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 152 (Thursday, November 12, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2316-E2317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4328, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. LANE EVANS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 12, 1998

  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 4328, The 
Omnibus and Emergency Appropriations Bill of 1998. Many of the 
provisions contained in this measure are deserving of support--these 
include aid to farmers, support for education and other worthy 
programs. However, I do have some serious reservations about one 
provision--Division D--Persian Gulf War Veterans Act of 1998. This 
measure incorporates text from S. 2358, including compensation 
legislation for Gulf War veterans that would attempt to override a 
compromise developed by both bodies' authorizing committees. This 
provision was inserted over objections in both Chambers in an effort to 
conciliate one member of the other body. I am unaware of any prior 
conference process that has been blatantly overridden to account for 
the desires of one Member. I am also extremely disappointed with my 
colleagues on the Appropriations Committee of the House and Senate for 
acceding to the demands of one individual who clearly did not express 
the authorizers' views.
  By putting this authorization into ``must pass'' legislation with a 
number of worthy funding initiatives, I feel that my colleagues have 
exploited the position in which I and others find ourselves today. The 
Veterans Affairs Committee in the House and the other body, the 
committees of jurisdiction, agreed to comprehensive veterans' 
legislation which is now

[[Page E2317]]

awaiting passage by the other body. This measure, H.R. 4110, the 
Veterans' Programs Enhancements Act of 1998, was approved on October 
10, 1998 by the House by a unanimous vote of 423 to 0. As agreed to by 
the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees and approved by the 
House, H.R. 4110 resulted from a consensus building process. This 
process created a bill that all concerned believed was cumulatively 
better than the sum of its parts. The compromise included parts of S. 
2358, and of my bill, H.R. 3279, that allows the use of epidemiological 
models to determine what conditions ought to be compensated with regard 
to Persian Gulf War veterans. I considered this step to be a major gain 
for veterans. I sincerely believe that, in overriding the compromise, 
we will do a great disservice to our Gulf War veterans.
  H.R. 4110 allows the prevalence of illnesses veterans experience to 
serve as a basis for compensation determinations. This model--one 
supported by the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War 
Illnesses--is thought by many scientists to provide an approach that 
gives veterans the benefit of the doubt. Even if veterans are unable to 
prove that their illnesses resulted from any of a host of possible 
causes, as the language in S. 2358 and now, would require them to do, 
conditions that they experienced more frequently than their peers could 
serve as a basis for compensation.
  By including the text of S. 2358 in the Omnibus and Emergency 
Appropriations Bill of 1998, those who have wrought the Omnibus and 
Emergency Appropriations Bill of 1998 have violated not only the 
spirit, but the letter, of the agreement of the authorizing committees. 
This is nothing less than a travesty of the legislative process. This 
is nothing less than using strong arm tactics to achieve the will of 
one. This is wrong, plain and simple.

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