THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 10, 1994 TAG: 9406100721
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: 940610 LENGTH: WASHINGTON
``This legislation is revolutionary. We have never before provided payment for something we're not even certain exists,'' Veterans Affairs Secretary Jesse Brown said in testimony to a House Veterans' Affairs panel.
{REST} Hundreds of veterans have complained of a mysterious range of maladies that they believe are war-related. Complaints, in their order of frequency, include fatigue, skin rash, muscle and joint pain, headache, loss of memory, shortness of breath and gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms.
Brown said the administration backed the bill introduced by Rep. G.V. ``Sonny'' Montgomery, D-Miss., chairman of the full committee. He went one step further, saying a provision requiring veterans to show symptoms within one year of leaving the gulf was too restrictive.
The administration's endorsement significantly raises the chances of passage for this compensation plan or something similar.
The bill provides benefits for veterans with illnesses they say are related to Persian Gulf service, and urges establishment of outreach programs to aid gulf veterans and their families. It asks the VA to expand research programs and ensure coordination in treatment of veterans.
The efforts to extend benefits come more than three years after the United States and its allies defeated Iraq in the war, and amid growing disillusionment among veterans about the government's commitment to finding out why so many of them are now sick.
``We're heading in the right direction although we still have a long ways to go,'' said Phil Budahn, spokesman for the American Legion. ``We would have wished it would have been faster.'' He added that it took 15 years for the government to take similar action for Agent Orange victims after the Vietnam War.
Various origins for Persian Gulf Syndrome have been suggested, including Iraqi biological and chemical agents released into the air, toxic fumes from oil fires, parasites and anti-anthrax vaccines, but no single cause has been determined.
As a result, veterans have had difficulty obtaining treatment at VA hospitals and receiving compensation for service-related disabilities.
Three government departments are studying the illnesses, but neither they nor civilian scientists have come up with a cause that explains the various symptoms. In April, a panel of distinguished scientists assembled by the National Institutes of Health reported that no link could be made between the conditions and the war without better data. Members suggested further study.
``We cannot always wait on research,'' Montgomery told the subcommittee on compensation, pension and insurance. ``While we wait, severe medical problems are preventing some Persian Gulf veterans from working and supporting their families. They need our help now.''
Brown said the outreach and research programs would cost an annual $42.6 million and that the estimated benefit costs would be ``at least $45.5 million, but very likely much higher'' as more veterans come forward with ailments.
He also suggested that the bill's provision that benefits go only to those whose symptoms appeared within one year of gulf service was too limiting, and recommended a two-year period.
Rep. Lane Evans, D-Ill., a senior member of the committee, submitted a bill increasing the eligibility period to three years. Evans also left open-ended the time during which veterans may receive benefits. Montgomery's bill limits payments to three years, but said that could be extended.
by CNB