National Gulf War Resource Center Supports New Gulf War Illness Bill; Evans Legislation Provides Permanent Benefit for Veterans with ALS 2/4/2002
From: Steve Robinson of the National Gulf War Resource Center, 800-882-1316, ext. 162; e-mail: srobinson@ngwrc.org; Web site: www.ngwrc.org WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 -- The National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC), the nation's leading Gulf War advocacy organization, supports H.R. 3461, a bill granting permanent healthcare care disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans suffering from Lou Gehrig's Disease who deployed to the Gulf War. Rep. Lane Evans of Illinois, the ranking Democratic member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, introduced the bill so VA's temporary decision to approve healthcare and disability deployed Gulf War veterans with Lou Gehrig's Disease will become permanent under the law. "The NGWRC thanks Rep. Evans for his bold leadership and advocacy on behalf of ill Gulf War veterans. His bill will pave the way for VA to provide permanent benefits to Gulf War veterans suffering from Lou Gehrig's Disease into the future," said Mike Woods, NGWRC's president. "The NGWRC urges Congress to approve Rep. Evans' bill. In addition, VA must move aggressively forward with medical research into the illnesses among more than 100,000 Gulf War veterans," added Woods. The cause of Lou Gehrig's Disease is not known, and there is no cure. The disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is named after the famous baseball player who died from it. In testimony before the House Veterans' Affairs Committee in 1998 and 1999, the NGWRC urged VA to conduct medical research into reports made by Gulf War veterans about the unexplained high rates of ALS. VA began ALS research in 2000. In December 2001, VA released preliminary medical research results showing that deployed Gulf War Veterans are twice as like to contract ALS than veterans who didn't deploy to Desert Storm and the war against Iraq. The VA announcement was the first official government link between Gulf War service and a medical condition. When VA released their findings, VA approved temporary benefits to as many as 16 deployed Gulf War veterans who were previously denied (36 were already approved, according to Rep. Evans). The NGWRC strongly supported VA Secretary Anthony Principi's swift action to temporarily approve the claims based on his authority as Secretary. Rep. Evans' bill would make permanent Secretary Principi's temporary decision. The bill will enable VA to provide benefits to any Gulf War veteran who may develop ALS in the future. It also defines eligible veterans as those deployed to the Gulf War from Aug. 2, 1990, through the present. Rep. Evans' press release can be viewed at: http://veterans.house.gov/democratic/press/107th/12-14-01als.htm H.R. 3461 can be viewed at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname= 107(underscore)cong(underscore)bills&docid=f:h3461ih.txt.pdf Information about Michael Donnelly, a Gulf War veteran with ALS, can be viewed at: http://www.falconscry.com/ |