[Senate Report 105-87]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 181
105th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 1st Session                                                     105-87
_______________________________________________________________________


 
  AUTHORIZING SUPPLEMENTAL EXPENDITURES BY THE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' 
                                AFFAIRS

                                _______
                                

               September 25, 1997.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Specter, from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                       [To accompany S. Res. 126]

    Authorizing supplemental expenditures by the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs.

                          Committee Resolution

    The text of the resolution as reported is as follows:
                               RESOLUTION
  Authorizing supplemental expenditures by the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs
    Resolved, that section 18(b) of Senate Resolution 54, 105th 
Congress, agreed to February 13, 1997, is amended by striking out 
``$1,123,430'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``$1,698,430''.

                              Introduction

    In a letter dated February 3, 1997, the Chairman and 
Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
conveyed the Committee's biennial budget request to the 
Committee on Rules and Administration. Included was a request 
for $1,653,020 of non-recurring funds to conduct a 12-month 
special investigation into the mysterious ailments that plague 
the Nation's Persian Gulf War veterans. Included among the 
questions that needed to be answered are:
          Whether attempts by the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs (VA) to treat Gulf War veterans have been 
        compromised by a lack of information concerning 
        veterans' exposures to chemical and biological agents;
          Why do so many veterans who have sought medical 
        assistance report that treatment is ineffective;
          Why has scientific research, to date, been 
        inconclusive;
          To what extent were Gulf War veterans given 
        experimental and unproven medications and vaccines, and 
        to what extent have those substances, by themselves or 
        in synergy with other environmental factors, been 
        harmful; and
          Why have so many veterans been denied compensation 
        when no one seems to question the validity of their 
        claims of illness.
    By letter dated March 19, 1997, the Committee on Rules and 
Administration advised all Senate committees that the total of 
non-recurring requests for the first year of the biennial 
budget period exceeded the projected available total of special 
reserves. Due to this funding shortfall, all committees were 
instructed to reconsider their non-recurring needs and to 
resubmit a revised request.
    Accordingly, in a letter dated March 21, 1997, the 
Committee on Veterans' Affairs submitted a revised request of 
$1,250,000 of non-recurring funds for the 12-month 
investigation, a reduction of over $400,000.
    In its letter dated April 11, 1997, the Committee on Rules 
and Administration informed the Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
that it had approved $575,000 in special reserves ``for 
obligations incurred through September 30, 1997, under 
authority of section 22 of S. Res. 54, agreed to February 13, 
1997, as amended.'' Further, it was stated that the Committee 
on Rules and Administration ``will entertain a supplemental 
request from your committee in accordance with Rule XXVI, 
paragraph (9)(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate for 
additional funding that your committee considers necessary. 
This request, however, must be effective October 1, 1997, or 
thereafter, in order to obligate funds that will then be 
available in the FY-98 Legislative Branch Appropriations 
Bill.''
    Accordingly, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs unanimously 
agreed on September 24, 1997, to report a supplemental funding 
resolution for an additional $575,000 of non-recurring funds to 
support the Committee's Special Investigation Unit on Persian 
Gulf War Illnesses from October 1, 1997, through the conclusion 
of the investigation on or about March 31, 1998. Inclusive of 
this supplemental request, the total budget for this effort 
will be $1,150,000, which is over $500,000 less than the 
Committee's initial estimate, and $100,000 less than the 
revised request.

     Changes in Existing Resolution Made by S. Res. 126 as Reported

    Existing resolution language proposed to be omitted is 
enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 
and existing resolution language in which no change is proposed 
is shown in roman:

                               S. RES. 54

          * * * * * * *

                               RESOLUTION

     Authorizing biennial expenditures by committees of the Senate

    Resolved,

                              short title

    Section 1. This resolution may be cited as the ``Omnibus 
Committee Funding Resolution for 1997 and 1998.''.
          * * * * * * *

                     committee on veterans' affairs

    Sec. 18. (a) * * *
    (b) The expenses of the committee for the period March 1, 
1997, through September 20, 1998, under this section shall not 
exceed [$1,123,430] $1,698,430, of which amount (1) not to 
exceed $250,000, may be expended for the procurement of the 
services of individual consultants, or organizations thereof 
(as authorized by section 202(i) of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946, as amended); and (2) not to exceed 
$3,000, may be expended for the training of the professional 
staff of such committee (under procedures specified by section 
202(j) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as 
amended).
          * * * * * * *

                                
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