THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 7, 1995 TAG: 9503070290
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
President Clinton moved Monday to outflank his GOP rivals on veterans issues: He decried Republican plans to trim spending for veterans' health care and announced the creation of an advisory panel on the mysterious Gulf War Syndrome.
Reaching out to a pivotal constituency - one which in the past has not overflowed with sympathy for him - Clinton told a convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars that a move to cut $200 million for veterans' health care was ``unwise and unnecessary.''
``Some in Congress see that the need to improve your health care services is not very important,'' he told the group, referring to the House Appropriations Committee.
Initially, the veterans' greeting was not a warm one.
Clinton received only polite applause after his introduction. At least a third of the crowd kept their hands at their sides, choosing not to clap for a president who in his youth maneuvered to avoid military service in Vietnam.
The crowd turned more receptive later on, when Clinton boasted that ``our administration is pushing for $1.3 billion more for the Department of Veterans Affairs over the next five years'' and vowed to fight the proposed cuts``every step of the way.''
He carried that promise to fight for veterans a step further. Clinton said he was convening a panel of scientists, physicians, veterans and others to examine the cases of thousands of Gulf War veterans suffering from unexplained illnesses.
``We know their problems are real and cannot be ignored while we wait for science to provide all the answers,'' he said.
He said the panel would ``leave no stone unturned'' as it tries to find out why thousands of Gulf War veterans have been stricken with fatigue, skin rashes, memory loss, muscle and joint pain, severe headaches and other medical problems that have so far defied diagnosis.
At the White House, press secretary Mike McCurry said two Defense Department Specialized Care Centers, in Washington and in San Antonio, would open this month for patients who need additional testing or treatment. McCurry said the advisory committee will be named soon. Its goal, he said, is to produce an interim report within six months and a final report in 1996.
Government researchers who have studied the cases have found no single cause for the complaints; they have instead traced the symptoms in most cases to one or several routine illnesses. But some veterans, unsatisfied and fearing that their families may become ill, have urged Clinton to set up a research panel outside of government.
Arriving halfway through the president's speech was Hillary Rodham Clinton, who administration officials said has been a point-person on the Gulf War Syndrome issue.
Her appearance served as a reminder of the administration's changing approach on veterans issues. During the debate over health-care proposals, a task force headed by the first lady initially favored proposals that would have sharply scaled back the separate health-care system for veterans because of concerns that it was inefficient. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
President Clinton on Monday also criticized a proposal by the
Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee to cut $200
million for veterans health care.
KEYWORDS: OPERATION DESERT STORM PERSIAN GULF WAR ILLNESS by CNB