S10862 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 10, 2008 

Yllescas was strong enough to survive 

a lengthy medical evacuation which 

eventually brought him to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. With Dena and other family members at his side, Captain 

Yllescas underwent almost daily surgeries in the hope of recovery. Dena 

Yllescas chronicled his hospitalization 

on an Internet blog which drew tens of 

thousands of readers. Friends, relatives 

and total strangers all followed Captain Yllescas’s progress and prayed for 

his recovery. President George W. Bush 

made a special trip to the medical center and awarded Captain Yllescas the 

Purple Heart in a brief ceremony on 

November 10. 

Captain Yllescas knew the dangers he 

faced and the risks he took. He also 

knew the importance of the work he 

did in the Army on behalf of his fellow 

Americans. He risked and ultimately 

sacrificed his own life so that people a 

world away could have the chance to 

enjoy the freedoms he had found in 

America. 

Captain Yllescas is survived by his 

wife, Dena, and daughters Julia, age 7, 

and Eva, 10 months; parents, Barbara 

Yllescas of Lincoln and Otto Yllescas 

of Guatemala; a brother, Christopher of 

Columbia, MO; and two sisters, Jennifer Winterbauer of Lincoln and Natalie Yllescas of Guatemala. 

The life and service of Captain 

Yllescas represents an example we can 

all look up to and seek to emulate. He 

served his country honorably and made 

the ultimate sacrifice in furtherance of 

a much larger goal. Captain Yllescas 

made the most of his short life, and the 

greatest tragedy is that now it is impossible to know what more this promising young man might have accomplished. I join all Nebraskans in 

mourning the loss of Captain Yllescas 

and in offering my deepest condolences 

to his family. 

f 

GULF WAR ILLNESS RESEARCH 

FUNDING 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Madam President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to review the findings of the 

congressionally mandated Research 

Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses. This report, which was 

released a few weeks ago, confirms 

what many veterans of the Gulf War, 

lawmakers, physicians, and researchers 

have long suspected that the mysterious illnesses suffered by one in four 

gulf war veterans are real, and are a result of their exposure to neurotoxic 

chemicals. 

It was not long after the successful 

conclusion of the gulf war that many of 

our soldiers returned home with multiple persistent symptoms including 

headaches, memory loss, gastrointestinal problems, and widespread 

pain. The symptoms were real, yet the 

cause and effective treatment have remained frustratingly elusive. As a leading member of the Senate Committee 

on Veterans’ Affairs, I pushed hard for 

oversight hearings and continued research efforts. 

Finally, 17 years after the end of that 

conflict, this report confirms that veterans’ neurotoxin and pesticide exposure during the gulf war has been consistently found to be causally associated with gulf war illness. Unfortunately, this report also concludes that 

few veterans have recovered from their 

exposure, and treatments remain ineffective. While it is important that the 

cause of this illness has been established, it is unacceptable for our veterans to continue to suffer from these 

wounds of war. 

In light of the findings of the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf 

War Veterans’ Illnesses, there must be 

a continued investment in gulf war illness research. It is estimated that 

175,000 to 210,000 gulf war veterans are 

suffering from the effects of neurotoxin 

exposure directly related to their time 

spent in the Gulf. Once again, hundreds 

of thousands of soldiers find themselves back in the area as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Therefore, it is 

vital that we do all that we can to adequately fund gulf war research. 

We also need to learn the lesson of 

the value of candor and research. DOD 

and VA must be more open with Congress about the concerns facing our 

troops, from neurotoxin and pesticide 

exposures in the gulf war to the troubling issue of suicide, mental health 

issues, and traumatic brain injury, 

TBI, in the current conflict. We must 

address all the wounds of war, both 

visible and invisible, for our veterans 

who have served so bravely. 

f 

GENERIC MEDICINES 

Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I 

rise today to bring to my colleagues’ 

attention a recent article in the respected Journal of American Medicine 

on generic medicines. The article 

comes at a critical time as we begin to 

tackle the important issue of health 

care reform. 

There is no doubt that health care reform must include offering solutions 

that reduce skyrocketing health care 

costs. One solution to reducing costs is 

to increase access to generic medicines, which offer savings of up to 80 

percent over brand drug costs. 

The new JAMA article provides specific evidence on the benefits of generic 

medicines. The analysis, which included U.S. scientists reviewing more 

than 20 years of research on generic 

versus brand name drugs, found that 

there is no clinical evidence showing 

that brand name cardiovascular drugs 

were superior to their generic versions. 

Moreover, the lead author of the report 

noted that generics can lead to better 

outcomes because they cost less, which 

means patients can afford to take them 

and stay on them. 

As our economy continues to struggle, Americans across the country are 

looking for ways to make ends meet. 

We hear too often about older Americans rationing their medicines and 

even mothers watering down infant formula to make it last longer, not knowing of the dangerous health impact this 

can have. A recent survey conducted by 

BearingPoint, Inc., and Zogby found 

that an alarming number of consumers 

admitted that they would consider denying themselves or their children 

health care to save money during this 

difficult economic time. 

As we consider the critical and interrelated issues regarding the economic 

crisis and reform of national health 

care, the new JAMA study supports 

every effort we can make now to increase the use of generic medicines. We 

should remove the numerous barriers 

to getting generic medicines to consumers sooner rather than later, and 

we must prevent the creation of new 

barriers that will impede greater use of 

generics. We also should consider how 

to create a workable pathway for 

biogenerics, a pathway that actually 

gets these safe and affordable lifesaving medicines to patients in a timely manner. 

Generic medicines save consumers 

and State and Federal governments billions of dollars annually. At the same 

time, generic medicines are FDA approved, guaranteeing their safety and 

effectiveness. 

When the new Congress tackles the 

important health care initiatives that 

lie ahead, the safety and effectiveness 

of prescription drugs must remain a 

top priority. As the medical evidence 

concludes, Congress can have confidence in the fact that increasing access to generic medicines will provide 

high-quality care at significant cost 

savings for consumers and the government. 

I ask unanimous consent to have the 

article to which I referred printed in 

the RECORD. 

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the 

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