[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 7 (Monday, February 19, 1996)]
[Page 302]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message on the Interim Report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on 
Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses

February 15, 1996

Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Subject: Interim Report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf 
War Veterans' Illnesses

    On May 26, 1995, I established the Presidential Advisory Committee 
on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses to review and provide recommendations on 
the full range of government activities relating to Gulf War veterans' 
illnesses. The Committee has now released its interim report, which you 
have reviewed and forwarded for my attention.
    I am pleased that the Committee's interim report recognizes the 
serious efforts underway in the Administration to respond to the health 
concerns of Desert Storm veterans, and I thank you for your close 
cooperation with the Committee as it fulfills its charge. I trust that 
you will continue to work closely with the Committee as it prepares its 
final report.
    I also request that you carefully review the recommendations and 
report back to me promptly with your plans for implementing the 
recommendations. As I said last March when announcing my intention to 
establish the Advisory Committee, we will leave no stone unturned in our 
efforts to determine the causes of the illnesses experienced by Gulf War 
veterans and to provide the best possible medical care to those who are 
ill.
                                            William J. Clinton