    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 21 (Monday, May 29, 1995)]
    [Pages 911-913]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Executive Order 12961--Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War
    Veterans' Illnesses

    May 26, 1995

        By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and
    the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as
    follows:
        Section 1. Establishment. (a) There is hereby established the
    Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (the
    ``Committee''). The Committee shall be composed of not more than 12
    members to be appointed by the President. The members of the Committee
    shall have expertise relevant to the functions of the Committee and
    shall not be full-time officials or employees of the executive branch of
    the Federal Government. The Committee shall be subject to the Federal
    Advisory Committee Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. App. 2.
        (b) The President shall designate a Chairperson from among the
    members of the Committee.
        Sec. 2. Functions. (a) The Committee shall report to the President
    through the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and
    the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
        (b) The Committee shall provide advice and recommendations based on
    its review of the following matters:
        (1) Research: epidemiological, clinical, and other research
    concerning Gulf War veterans' illnesses.
        (2) Coordinating Efforts: the activities of the Persian Gulf
    Veterans Coordinating Board, including the Research Coordinating

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    Council, the Clinical Working Group, and the Disability and Compensation
    Working Group.
        (3) Medical Treatment: medical examinations and treatment in
    connection with Gulf War veterans' illnesses, including the
    Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Program and the Persian Gulf Registry
    Medical Examination Program.
        (4) Outreach: government-sponsored outreach efforts such as hotlines
    and newsletters related to Gulf War veterans' illnesses.
        (5) External Reviews: the steps taken to implement recommendations
    in external reviews by the Institute of Medicine's Committee to Review
    the Health Consequences of Service During the Persian Gulf War, the
    Defense Science Board Task Force on Persian Gulf War Health Effects, the
    National Institutes of Health Technology Assessment Workshop on the
    Persian Gulf Experience and Health, the Persian Gulf Expert Scientific
    Committee, and other bodies.
        (6) Risk Factors: the possible risks associated with service in the
    Persian Gulf Conflict in general and, specifically, with prophylactic
    drugs and vaccines, infectious diseases, environmental chemicals,
    radiation and toxic substances, smoke from oil well fires, depleted
    uranium, physical and psychological stress, and other factors applicable
    to the Persian Gulf Conflict.
        (7) Chemical and Biological Weapons: information related to reports
    of the possible detection of chemical or biological weapons during the
    Persian Gulf Conflict.
        (c) It shall not be a function of the Committee to conduct
    scientific research. The Committee shall review information and provide
    advice and recommendations on the activities undertaken related to the
    matters described in (b) above.
        (d) It shall not be a function of the Committee to provide advice or
    recommendations on any legal liability of the Federal Government for any
    claims or potential claims against the Federal Government.
        (e) As used herein, ``Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses'' means the
    symptoms and illnesses reported by United States uniformed services
    personnel who served in the Persian Gulf Conflict.
        (f) The Committee shall submit an interim report within 6 months of
    the first meeting of the Committee and a final report by December 31,
    1996, unless otherwise provided by the President.
        Sec. 3. Administration. (a) The heads of executive departments and
    agencies shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the Committee
    with such information as it may require for purposes of carrying out its
    functions.
        (b) Members of the Committee shall be compensated in accordance with
    Federal law. Committee members may be allowed travel expenses, including
    per diem in lieu of subsistence, to the extent permitted by law for
    persons serving intermittently in the Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-
    5707).
        (c) To the extent permitted by law, and subject to the availability
    of appropriations, the Department of Defense shall provide the Committee
    with such funds as may be necessary for the performance of its
    functions.
        Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of
    any other Executive order, the functions of the President under the
    Federal Advisory Committee Act that are applicable to the Committee,
    except that of reporting annually to the Congress, shall be performed by
    the Secretary of Defense, in accordance with the guidelines and
    procedures established by the Administrator of General Services.
        (b) The Committee shall terminate 30 days after submitting its final
    report.
        (c) This order is intended only to improve the internal management
    of the executive branch and it is not intended to create any right,
    benefit or trust responsibility, substantive or procedural, enforceable
    at law or equity by a party against the United States, its agencies, its
    officers, or any person.
                                                William J. Clinton
    The White House,
    May 26, 1995.

    [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:36 a.m., May 30,
    1995]

     Note:  This Executive order will be published in the Federal Register
    on May 31.

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