[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 150 (Wednesday, November 17, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7512-H7515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COMMEMORATING THE PERSIAN GULF WAR

  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 1672) commemorating the Persian Gulf War and 
reaffirming the commitment of the United States towards Persian Gulf 
War veterans, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1672

       Whereas, on August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded the State of 
     Kuwait, thereby initiating the Persian Gulf War;
       Whereas in the months following Iraq's invasion and 
     occupation of Kuwait, the United Nations Security Council 
     adopted 11 resolutions that, inter alia, demanded that Iraq 
     unconditionally withdraw from Kuwait and imposed economic 
     sanctions and other pressure against Saddam Hussein's 
     dictatorship in Iraq;
       Whereas on November 29, 1990, the United Nations Security 
     Council adopted Resolution 678, which authorized United 
     Nations Member States to use all necessary means to uphold 
     Resolution 660 (1990), which demanded that Iraq 
     unconditionally withdraw from Kuwait;
       Whereas on January 12, 1991, the United States Congress 
     authorized the United States Armed Forces to help the State 
     of Kuwait defend itself against the Iraqi invasion;
       Whereas the Armed Forces of the United States, joined by 
     coalition partners, overwhelmed the enemy in a short, 
     decisive military campaign of less than 30 days;
       Whereas the hostilities ended in a cease-fire declared by 
     President George H.W. Bush on February 28, 1991, one hundred 
     hours after the ground campaign began;
       Whereas during the Persian Gulf War, approximately 694,550 
     members of the United States Armed Forces served in-theater 
     along with the forces of over 30 other members of the United 
     Nations;
       Whereas casualties of the United States during the Persian 
     Gulf War included 383 dead (of whom 148 were battle deaths), 
     and more than 467 wounded;
       Whereas approximately 2,225,000 American men and women 
     served worldwide in the Armed Forces during the entire Gulf 
     War era;
       Whereas approximately 174,000 veterans suffer from 
     illnesses related to service during the Persian Gulf War, 
     including Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses;
       Whereas Congress notes the Institute of Medicine's report, 
     ``Gulf War and Health'', released on April 9, 2010; 
     encourages the Department of Veterans Affairs task force to 
     identify recommendations from this report to better treat 
     illnesses related to service during the Persian Gulf War, 
     including Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses; and reaffirms the 
     commitment of the United States towards Persian Gulf War 
     veterans;
       Whereas since the end of the Persian Gulf War era, an 
     average of more than 2,000 members of the United States Armed 
     Forces have served annually in Kuwait to defend the State of 
     Kuwait against external aggression, and to promote regional 
     peace;
       Whereas in addition to their participation in the Gulf War 
     to liberate Kuwait, United States service members have 
     maintained a significant military presence in the Gulf for 
     decades and played a key role in defending United States 
     interests and allies in the Gulf region; and
       Whereas beginning in August 2010, various ceremonies are 
     being planned in the United States to commemorate the 20th 
     anniversary of the Persian Gulf War and to honor all Persian 
     Gulf War veterans: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes the historical importance of the 20th 
     anniversary of the Persian Gulf War, which began on August 2, 
     1990;
       (2) honors the noble service and sacrifice of the United 
     States Armed Forces and the armed forces of allied countries 
     that served in the Persian Gulf since 1990 to the present;
       (3) encourages all Americans to participate in 
     commemorative activities to pay solemn tribute to, and to 
     never forget, the veterans of the Persian Gulf War;
       (4) calls upon the President to issue a proclamation 
     recognizing the 20th anniversary of the Persian Gulf War; and
       (5) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to peace 
     and prosperity in the Persian Gulf region.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Watson) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1672, which commemorates the 
Persian Gulf War of 1991 and reaffirms the commitment of the United 
States to the well-being of Persian Gulf War veterans.
  More than 20 years ago, on August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein ordered his 
army into Kuwait, starting a crisis that would lead to war. Although 
some predicted that Iraq's incursion would be limited, within hours 
Iraqi forces had seized downtown Kuwait City and were headed south 
toward the Saudi Arabian border, occupying all of Kuwait along the way. 
What followed was the largest build-up of American forces since the 
Vietnam War. Within a short period, members of the 82nd Airborne 
Division, as well as 300 combat aircraft, were headed for Saudi Arabia. 
By the end of September 1990, there were nearly 200,000 American 
personnel in Saudi Arabia ready to repel an Iraqi attack.

[[Page H7513]]

  Realizing the magnitude of Iraq's invasion, the President ordered 
additional soldiers to the Persian Gulf. During that period, an 
international coalition was formed, with more than 30 nations joining 
the effort to repel Iraqi aggression. On November 29, the U.N. Security 
Council passed a resolution authorizing the use of force if Iraq did 
not withdraw from Kuwait by January 15; and on the morning of January 
16, 1991, allied forces began the first phase of Operation Desert 
Storm. After a 38-day air campaign, Operation Desert Sabre, a massive 
ground attack, was launched by American and coalition forces into both 
Iraq and Kuwait. One hundred hours after the ground campaign began, the 
President declared a cease-fire.
  Mr. Speaker, our men and women in uniform did win that war. Their 
bravery in battle liberated a country and defended our friends from 
Saddam Hussein's aggression. We recall with special appreciation the 
383 men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice and the 467 who were 
wounded, as well as the thousands of veterans who, to this day, suffer 
from illnesses related to their Gulf War service.
  Mr. Speaker, the resolution before us recognizes the historical 
importance of the 20th anniversary of the Persian Gulf War. It honors 
the noble service and sacrifice of the United States Armed Forces that 
have served in the Persian Gulf during that war and since, and it 
encourages all Americans to participate in commemorative activities to 
pay tribute to the veterans of the Persian Gulf War. It also calls upon 
the President to issue a proclamation recognizing the war's 20th 
anniversary and reaffirms the commitment of the United States to peace 
and prosperity in the Persian Gulf region. I strongly support this 
resolution, and I encourage all of my colleagues to do as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MANZULLO. I rise in support of the resolution and yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago, on August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein's Iraqi 
regime invaded and occupied nearby Kuwait. In response, the United 
States stood firmly against this act of aggression and led a strong 
coalition of responsible nations in making clear that Saddam's actions 
would not be tolerated. As a result of U.S. leadership, the U.N. 
Security Council adopted almost a dozen separate resolutions that, 
among other things, demanded that Iraq unconditionally withdraw from 
Kuwait and increased economic sanctions and other pressure against 
Saddam's dictatorship.
  On November 29, 1990, the U.N. Security Council authorized the use of 
all necessary means to compel Iraq's withdrawal from Kuwait. Congress 
voted on January 12, 1991, to authorize America's Armed Forces to 
enforce the U.N. Security Council's resolutions with respect to Iraq.
  Mr. Speaker, when called to action, our men and women in uniform, 
almost 700,000 of whom served in the theater, fulfilled their mission 
in an exemplary manner with valor and honor. Joined by our coalition 
partners, the U.S. military overwhelmed Saddam's forces and drove them 
out of Kuwait in a decisive campaign that lasted fewer than 30 days. 
Sadly, during the Gulf War, 383 Americans made the ultimate sacrifice, 
giving their lives in service to our Nation, and more than 460 others 
were wounded.
  Among those who died was a young flight surgeon from Rochelle, 
Illinois, by the name of Dr. Koritz, when his jet aircraft was shot 
down. Further, over 170,000 returning veterans of the Gulf War have 
suffered from serious health problems.
  In 2001, I authored the Persian Gulf War Illness Compensation Act to 
make sure that our veterans receive compensation from illnesses as a 
result of Gulf War syndrome. This legislation garnered the support of 
more than half the House of Representatives, and it was later signed 
into law by the President of the United States. It was thanks to the 
loving dedication of Donna Steele, the widow of Gulf War veteran Dan 
Steele from Freeport, Illinois, that helped me understand the 
devastating nature of Gulf War syndrome.
  Mr. Speaker, as we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Gulf War, 
we must honor the service and sacrifice made by servicemembers and 
veterans. Further, we must reaffirm our determination to ensure peace 
and stability in the gulf region which is a key U.S. interest. 
Accordingly, I am proud to support House Resolution 1672 and thank my 
friend from Maine (Mr. Michaud) for introducing this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Maine, Michael Michaud.
  Mr. MICHAUD. I thank the gentlelady for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 1672, 
a measure I have introduced to commemorate the Persian Gulf War and 
reaffirm our Nation's commitment to the veterans who served in it. A 
cease-fire was declared by President George Bush on February 28, 1991, 
100 hours after the ground campaign began.

                              {time}  1810

  Yet, this war is far from over for the veterans who served so 
courageously in the gulf. In fact, an estimated 174,000 still suffer 
from Gulf War illness, including Gulf War syndrome. These veterans and 
their families must now wage a campaign of a different sort within the 
VA system.
  This includes my constituent, Michelle Comeau, of Dixfield, Maine, 
who was exposed to toxic sarin gas as a member of the Army National 
Guard. This led to unbearable migraines that have since rendered her 
100 percent disabled. In addition, her two daughters were subsequently 
born with rare birth defects, and have since developed symptoms similar 
to their mother.
  Sadly, Michelle and many other veterans and their families across the 
country continue to suffer. Not enough is known about these illnesses, 
including whether or not it can be passed from one generation to the 
next. Because of this, it is critical that VA continues its research 
efforts on illnesses of Gulf War veterans.
  This resolution we consider today commemorates the Gulf War and 
honors the noble service and sacrifice of veterans who served there. So 
it is also fitting that Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member 
Steve Buyer is here today to speak on behalf of this resolution.
  In addition to being a Persian Gulf veteran himself, Congressman 
Buyer began his career as a Member of Congress by leading efforts to 
create a national Persian Gulf War veterans registry. This important 
program was set up to provide a comprehensive physical exam and to 
track the special health concerns of veterans who served in the gulf.
  I want to thank Congressman Buyer for his service to this great 
Nation of ours, but also thank him for his service, his time here in 
Congress, which I enjoyed working with him on the Veterans' Affairs 
Committee.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join me today in supporting House 
Resolution 1672, to encourage all Americans to remember and pay tribute 
to those veterans, and to let them know that their struggles and 
sacrifices will never be forgotten.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, it is a real honor and privilege to yield 
such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer). 
He is the ranking member of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. He and I 
are classmates. We trained in school together to run as Members of 
Congress. He is a dear, dear friend. Our offices are on the same hall. 
Unfortunately, he is going to be leaving Congress this year.
  Mr. BUYER. I thank the gentleman from Illinois, and I also thank you 
for your friendship and your personal counsel over the years. Likewise, 
I am so pleased that your wife continues to do well.
  And to my friend, Mike Michaud, Mike--if I may have the latitude to 
address him by his first name, Mr. Speaker.
  I don't mean to be nostalgic here for the moment, but I think when 
Members look back, they really don't remember all the difficult and 
challenging moments, they remember the things that really bring joy to 
their life. And one of the joys that I have in life is getting the 
opportunity to meet some real genuine people. And that's what Mike 
Michaud of Maine is.
  You are a genuine human being and it is your nature, it is your 
character,

[[Page H7514]]

it is your moral compass, the reason I use the word ``genuine.'' You 
are truly one of the individuals that I will miss when I look back at 
Congress. I really will, Mike.
  I only wish your conference had made you chairman of the Veterans' 
Affairs Committee, I really do, because you and I could have done a lot 
of great things together.
  In reality, the unwritten history will be the success of the 
committee occurred not by your current chairman, but because of the 
work-around solutions that we were able to do, by you and I working 
together, with Stephanie Herseth and the Sergeant Major and Vic Snyder. 
So history may not credit you, Mr. Michaud, for all the things you've 
done, but I'm going to stand on the floor and let everybody know all 
the great things that you have done for veterans in this country, and I 
am very proud of you. So as I stand here and I think of not only 
myself, but I think about my colleagues, I want to make sure that you 
deserve the full measure.
  When I think about over 20 years ago, frankly, Saddam Hussein was 
pretty stupid. He decided to take seven of his Iraqi divisions and he 
invaded Kuwait. He committed incredible atrocities upon the people of 
Kuwait, and raped and pillaged the city of Kuwait City.
  And when the President then immediately sent the 101st and the 82nd 
Airborne divisions as a blocking force to then protect Saudi Arabia, 
they had to build up the logistics of Saudi Arabia itself and activate 
reservists. Not since World War II had there been such a deployment, 
not only of the air, but of the sea and the activation of the Guard and 
reserve and bringing Seventh Corps out of Europe.
  You see, Saddam Hussein decided to pick a fight, and he also then 
took on the United States at a time when the United States was its 
strongest. We had completed the Reagan build-up. Reagan built up our 
forces. A lot of good judgments were made back in the latter part of 
the 1970s and 1980s. Les Aspin, then the chairman of the committee, 
even though he made some policy changes with regard to how soldiers 
were going to be paid, and those pay issues got resolved later, in the 
latter part of the 1990s, Les Aspin, and then the Democrat control of 
the Armed Services Committee, though, worked then with Ronald Reagan 
and built up our force. And that was about standing down the Soviet 
Union. So as we then stood down the Soviet Union, we had a military 
that was extraordinarily powerful. And Saddam Hussein took on America 
at a time when we were the most powerful.
  Now, with regard to our combat experience, the combat experience for 
the Gulf War was truly also of value, in that our senior level 
leadership, the senior NCOs, the First Sergeants, the Sergeants Major, 
the Colonels, the General Officer Corps, the Admirals, they were 
Vietnam veterans. So as we went into Operations Desert Shield/Desert 
Storm, the leadership in that war, they said, well, we know what 
happened during Vietnam, and they always prided themselves that if they 
ever got themselves in another fight they were going to do things 
differently. So there was going to be no such thing as rotation. That's 
what happened in Vietnam.
  So when we arrived in theater in the first Gulf War, duration was the 
theme, not rotation, meaning we will be here so long as it's necessary 
to throw Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. As it turns out it was 100 days. 
That was a 100-day ground war. What isn't counted, though, is 
everything that it took to pull off a 100-day ground war.
  Bringing out so many of the guardsmen and reservists was 
extraordinary. What was amazing about all this is that that type of a 
call-up of all the guardsmen and reservists to then support the active 
elements actually was bringing America to the war. When you pull out a 
teacher, you pull out someone who leads the church choir, you pull out 
someone who is the butcher and the baker and you then send them to war, 
you're bringing America to war. And America really at the time was a 
little shocked.
  I mean, some of us, for myself the call-up was in 3 days. I got a 
notice and I was gone in 3 days. And it was a pretty extraordinary 
moment, not only in my life but in a lot of people's lives.
  When I think back at all of this, I really compliment the 
extraordinary leadership, not only of then Dick Cheney, but also of 
Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf. But I also look back with great 
pride of the men and women in theater. I believe that the active duty, 
of whom had always sort of looked down and chastised the reserve 
components, had new respect for the reserve components. And I look back 
at the Persian Gulf War, it was a defining moment, I think, at the time 
for our country.

                              {time}  1820

  With regard to the veterans, Mr. Michaud, you are absolutely correct. 
With a number in excess of 170,000, when you think of the number of 
those of us that actually went--I don't know the exact number, probably 
around 700,000 of us that went--that is a very large percentage that 
have some form of an illness.
  I was pretty startled by all this. I do recall what it took to sort 
of expose that some bad things had happened; the fact that we had blown 
up one of the Army depots that contained some mustard and sarin gas, 
and that plume was so large that it went over tens of thousands of not 
only our own troops, including myself, but also about 10,000 of the 
U.K. And to think that the DOD was not forthcoming with that 
information to our veterans for a long time is very disturbing.
  I do recall, when I got home I did not have the physical strength to 
even run down to the end of the lane. That is only about 1,000 feet. 
And here I am, 30 years old, physically fit, come back from war and I 
don't have the physical capacity. Something had happened to me, and I 
didn't know what it was. I do recall that my wife wanted me to go down 
to the VA or to go to the doctor, and I refused to do it. I refused to 
do it because, I said, Joni, if I go, they're just going to say it's in 
my head. I made it up. It's not real. Yet something had happened to my 
body.
  When I then came to Congress, I can assure you when I look back at 
it, and all of us know when you run for Congress it takes about a year 
and it takes a lot out of you physically, and I was very sick during 
that 1 year when I first ran for Congress. When I got here, I decided 
that I had to accept and get out of the denial mode and step forward 
and provide voice to a lot of my comrades, and that is what I chose to 
do.
  It is very difficult, especially all of us as public figures, to be 
willing to step forward and put a face, especially your own, on 
something like that. But I chose to do that. I remember working not 
only with the gentleman from Illinois but also Joe Kennedy at the time. 
That is one of the first things I learned about politics, too. When you 
take someone like Joe Kennedy and you marry him up with Steve Buyer, 
when we brought something to the floor, nobody voted against it.
  So the things we were able to do by opening the VA to make sure that 
these veterans got their access to health care, then creating the 
compensation for undiagnosed illnesses, that was pretty radical. But we 
knew that something wrong had happened, and we wanted to make sure that 
our compassion was real, so let's make sure we take care of the 
families. And that is exactly what we sought to do.
  I want to congratulate the gentleman for bringing this resolution. We 
have moved on to the second Gulf War, and now we are beginning to 
complete Iraq and we are still in Afghanistan. It is almost as though 
we have forgotten what happened to the veterans in the first Gulf War, 
and so many of them continue to suffer from these physical ailments. So 
when you take a moment like this, you are really saying unto the 
American people, ``Hey, we've still got some concerns. We still have 
some very real challenges out there.'' And as I leave, I know that my 
comrades are in good hands.
  So I want to thank all of you for supporting the VA and for 
supporting my comrades. They were there for us and you remember, and 
for that I am forever grateful. Thank you and Godspeed.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1672, 
a resolution recognizing the 20th anniversary of the outbreak of the 
Persian Gulf War and reaffirming the commitment of the United States 
towards Gulf War veterans.

[[Page H7515]]

  This resolution rightly recognizes the suffering and the needs of 
Persian Gulf War veterans who continue to suffer from Gulf War 
Veterans' Illness, GWI, without an adequate treatment or a cure. One in 
four of those who served in the first Gulf War experience multiple 
concurrent symptoms including memory and concentration problems, 
chronic headaches, widespread pain and gastrointestinal problems as a 
result of neurotoxic exposures during their Gulf War deployment. 
Research also shows that Gulf War veterans suffer from Lou Gehrig's 
disease at double the rate of their non-deployed peers. There is still 
no effective treatment for these veterans.
  A groundbreaking report issued by the Congressionally commissioned VA 
Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses entitled, 
``Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans'' identified two 
definite causes of the disease and a handful of other likely causes: 
exposure to pesticides and a drug given to troops to protect them from 
nerve gas.
  The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, IOM, 
released a groundbreaking report on Gulf War health in April, 
acknowledging that over 250,000 Gulf War veterans suffer from a chronic 
multisymptom illness that it is not due to psychiatric causes. Perhaps 
most importantly, the report recognizes the need for national research 
program that is likely to succeed in identifying treatments for GWI 
that will also benefit other U.S. military forces.
  For the past several years, I have led a bipartisan effort to support 
the Gulf War Veterans' Illness Research Program within the Department 
of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. The 
program was awarded $8 million in fiscal year, FY, 2010 and is critical 
following the Veteran's Administrations' decision this year to revisit 
rejected claims for Gulf War Veterans who have attempted to access 
treatment for the illness linked to their service. The research coming 
out of this program is among the most promising in the world for these 
veterans. We can and must do better than to forget the permanent 
sacrifices they have made. We must not rest until we identify 
treatments for them and ensure the exposures that caused the illnesses 
are not duplicated.
  I urge my colleagues to continue this bipartisan effort as the FY 
2011 Defense Appropriations bill and support funding for the Gulf War 
Veterans' Illness Research Program. We owe it to Gulf War veterans and 
all members of our Armed Forces to find a treatment.
  Mr. MANZULLO. I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. WATSON. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1672, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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