[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6521-6522]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 THE PRESENCE OF SQUALENE IN SICK GULF WAR VETS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED 
                      BY THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Metcalf) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. METCALF. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to address an issue of 
critical importance to many of our constituents. Over a year ago, my 
office was contacted by several veterans and others who were concerned 
about reports that the presence of antibodies for squalene had been 
discovered in blood samples of sick Gulf War veterans.
  How could squalene antibodies show up in the bodies of Gulf War 
veterans? Squalene is a component of adjuvant formulations used in some 
experimental vaccines but not in any licensed vaccines. It has not been 
licensed.
  An adjuvant is a toxic substance incorporated into a vaccine to 
accelerate, enhance or prolong specific immune responses.
  After my initial inquiries, I determined that it would be prudent to 
ask the GAO to conduct an investigation to determine the facts 
surrounding these disturbing reports.
  With over 100,000 of our Gulf War era veterans suffering, I believed 
it was imperative that we provide them with the truth regarding this 
issue. If there was nothing to substantiate the assertions, then we 
should be able to report those findings back to the veteran's community 
and move on with the search to provide them with the best possible 
treatment for Gulf War illnesses.
  GAO's report, recently released to me, is very disturbing and raises 
an increased number of serious questions. Its title, ``Gulf War 
Illnesses: Questions About the Presence of Squalene Antibodies in 
Veterans can be Resolved,'' indicates that we can get to the truth 
about squalene.
  The GAO report's conclusion is troubling and demands immediate 
attention. The GAO recommended that the Department of Defense should 
act now to expand on the research already conducted. The GAO found that 
independent research had been undertaken

[[Page 6522]]

using valid scientific measures, which has found the presence of 
squalene in sick Gulf War vets.
  They interviewed the dedicated immunologist who headed the project 
and the respected lead researcher from Tulane University in New Orleans 
who developed the test which provided these results. Their inquiry led 
them to vaccine experts who confirmed the validity of the methods used.
  After a thorough investigation, the GAO determined that the quality 
of the independent research demands, demands that the Department of 
Defense aggressively pursue these findings.
  Specifically, the report states that DOD should conduct research 
designed to replicate or dispute the independent research results that 
revealed the presence of squalene antibodies in the blood of ill Gulf 
War veterans. If DOD's research affirms the presence of these 
antibodies, additional research must be conducted, designed to assess 
the significance of that finding.
  The Department of Defense response to these recommendations has been 
unconscionable. They have stated that since they did not use squalene 
as an adjuvant during the Gulf War, there is no reason to test for it 
at this time. That is ducking the issue completely. They are willing to 
wait possibly for a year or more until the research is published to 
determine whether or not it warrants further review.
  Considering the suffering of so many of our brave men and women who 
are living daily with the painful consequences of their service to our 
Nation, I cannot comprehend the DOD's reluctance. Over $100 million, 
$100 million, has been spent on investigating Gulf War illnesses, with 
little success. Surely, we can find a few thousand dollars to replicate 
or dispute the research results. We owe the veterans the truth.
  Recently we have seen journalistic investigations examining this 
issue. Additional concerns have been raised by Gary Matsumoto in Vanity 
Fair and Paul Rodriguez of Insight Magazine.
  We must exercise our constitutional oversight role to unravel this 
mystery and provide a clear presentation of the facts.
  I have asked the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spence), the 
chairman of the Committee on Armed Services, and the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Stump), the chairman of the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs, to hold a joint hearing regarding the results of the GAO 
report. I believe it is essential to hear firsthand from the GAO 
investigators and obtain answers from DOD officials and others under 
oath to many of the questions that remain outstanding.
  It is imperative that DOD cooperate. We must find the truth wherever 
the next step leads.

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