[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 100 (Thursday, July 7, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1254-E1255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 DEPARTMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 23, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2219) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2012, and for other purposes:

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chair, I urge Members to support an amendment to the 
Fiscal Year 2012 Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 2219) 
to restore funding for the Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) of 
the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).
  The FY2012 Defense Appropriations bill, as passed by the Committee, 
cut many CDMRP programs by 20%. The amendment offered would restore 
$3.6 million to the GWIRP, bringing funding for the program back to 
FY2008 levels.
  This program has made dramatic progress during the past year and 
deserves additional funding.
  In a landmark Gulf War and Health report, the Institute of Medicine 
(IOM) has recognized that the chronic multi-symptom illness affecting 
250,000 Gulf War veterans is a serious disease--not caused by 
psychiatric illness--that also affects other U.S. military forces, and 
called for a major national research effort to identify treatments. The 
scientific community has responded with a dramatic increase in the 
quality and quantity of proposals submitted to GWIRP. Most encouraging, 
GWIRP-funded researchers have completed the first successful pilot 
study of a medication to treat one of the major symptoms of Gulf War 
illness.
  This effective small program demonstrably merits continuation and 
expansion, even in a time of fiscal austerity. As stated by the 
Institute of Medicine Chair, Dr. Stephen Hauser, it is ``vital to the 
health and effectiveness of current and future military forces, in 
addition to Gulf War veterans.''
  The GWIRP is the only national program studying this issue. It is a 
competitive peer-reviewed program open to any doctor or scientist on a 
competitive basis. By contrast, Veterans Affairs (VA) research programs 
are only open to VA doctors, few of whom have expertise in chronic 
multi-symptom illness. To effectively address a difficult and 
specialized problem like this, it is necessary to enlist the entire 
medical scientific community.
  Most importantly, it is working. GWIRP-funded researchers at the 
University of California, San Diego, will reported in June on the first 
successful medication treatment study in the history of Gulf War 
illness research. The study showed that the supplement CoQ10 produced 
significant improvement in one of the most serious symptoms of Gulf War 
illness, fatigue with exertion. It is not a cure, and the study needs 
to be replicated in a larger group, but the result is extremely 
encouraging.

[[Page E1255]]

  At long last, the scientific community has recognized the severity 
and scope of this problem and is engaged in its solution. Congress has 
created this superb program, which is succeeding where others have 
failed. Congress must provide the necessary resources to continue this 
progress.
  Additional funding would be used for pilot studies of promising 
treatments, for clinical trials of treatments shown effective in 
earlier pilot studies, and for the execution of collaborative research 
plans developed by consortiums of scientists funded in prior years.
  As you know, our nation owes a sacred debt to the men and women who 
willingly serve and sacrifice while wearing our country's uniform. At 
this critical time in researching and understanding Gulf War illness, 
it is vital that bipartisan leadership points out the accomplishments 
of this small program to our colleagues, to ensure that it survives the 
current legislative session and its benefits are not lost to veterans 
of the Gulf War and future wars.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important amendment to ensure 
the continuation of the Gulf War Illness Research Program.

                          ____________________