2010 Legislative Issues of National Gulf War Resource Center

Dear Chairman Filner and Members of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs,
The National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC) appreciates the opportunity to submit a written statement for the record regarding our priorities for the second session of the 111th Congress.
The NGWRC is a non-profit organization based in Topeka, Kansas, focusing on issues related to Gulf War illnesses. We have testified regularly before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee since 1995, when we were first formed in Washington, DC.
The NGWRC leads the battle in identifying problems facing Gulf War veterans and their families and finding practical solutions. Using the Freedom of Information Act, NGWRC forced the Department of Defense to confirm hundreds of thousands of our fellow veterans who were exposed to toxins during Desert Shield / Desert Storm, including oil well fire pollution, depleted uranium, chemical warfare agents, anthrax vaccines, pyridostigmine bromide pills, pesticides, and others.
NGWRC also led the legislative efforts to fund medical research at the Department of Veterans Affairs, to provide service-connected disability benefits for undiagnosed illnesses, and the creation of VA’s Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses.
Our statement for the record is limited to our top four best ways Congress can assist our Nation’s 700,000 Desert Storm veterans from 1991 and those who entered Southwest Asia since 1991.
The NGWRC asks the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee to work closely with the House Armed Services Committee and the House Appropriations Committee to budget and then appropriate $30,000,000 for the purpose of funding treatments for the estimated 200,000 Gulf War veterans suffering from chronic multi-symptom illnesses.
We would like $10,000,000 of the funding to go to Dr. Haley’s research being done in Texas. The Congress approved $75,000,000 for his research at UTSWMC over a five year time frame. With the VA now redirecting the funding to different studies, the last of Dr Haley’s studies needing to be completed, this money is needed now. To see the importance of the finding, we also ask that you do a joint hearing to hear from Dr. Haley on what his research has found and how it will help the veterans.

May 1, 2007 (Boston) -- Researchers have found signs of structural brain changes in Gulf War veterans with multiple health problems.

This comes eight months after a government advisory panel acknowledged that U.S. soldiers who served in Iraq and Kuwait in the early 1990s suffer increased rates of many ailments.

Two regions of the brain involved in thinking and memory were significantly smaller in veterans who returned with more than five health problems than in those who had fewer ailments, says study head Roberta White, MD, chairman of environmental health at the Boston University School of Public Health.

You can go to WebMD for more on this.

The National Gulf War Resource Center asks that all Veterans and their families take the time to view scenes from Producer/Director Christopher Martini's upcoming feature film, "Trooper". This landmark film boldly addresses the human cost of war on our Veterans and their families through a compelling storyline that follows a soldier’s return from Iraq, only to discover that both he and his father, a Vietnam Veteran, face severe health problems resulting from their service in two very different wars.

Most important - after viewing, we request that you take the time to “rate” the film trailer by clicking on one of the five red stars located at the bottom left of the video – hopefully the 5th star. Also submit comments and feedback where indicated. You’ll need to create a YouTube account in order to rate the film and post comments, but your efforts in this regard will help Mr. Martini secure funding necessary to complete and distribute the film. This film is dedicated to all Veterans and their families – let’s help finish it. A few keystrokes are all it takes for you to help.

View and rate the film trailer here

U.S. To Repay Veterans In Debt Case

By Ellen E. Schultz

The U.S. will repay $7.4 million to military veterans whose tax refunds and benefits the government improperly withheld to recover debts from charge and credit cards they used to buy uniforms and other items at military bases.

A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday preliminarily approved a civil-court settlement in a case in which the government has agreed to repay up to $10,000 each to 6,715 former members of the armed forces.