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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2451

To provide for the establishment of a specialized environmental medical unit

to investigate the possible health effects of environmental and chemical

exposures of United States military personnel in the Persian Gulf War

and for related civilian purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 17, 1993

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. EVANS, Mr. BUYER, Mr. GUTIERREZ, and

Mr. CLEMENT) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly

to the Committees on Armed Services and Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To provide for the establishment of a specialized environmental medical unit to investigate the possible health

effects of environmental and chemical exposures of

United States military personnel in the Persian Gulf

War and for related civilian purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Persian Gulf War En5 vironmental Hazards Study Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. STARTUP GRANT.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall

3 make a grant in the amount of $950,000 to a medical

4 research institution selected through established acquisi5 tion procedures for the purpose of constructing and equip6 ping a specialized environmental medical facility at that

7 institution with the purpose of studying the possible health

8 effects of exposure to low levels of volatile organic chemi9 cals and the individual susceptibility of humans to such

10 exposure under environmentally controlled conditions.

11 (b) FUNDING SOURCE.—Funds for the grant under

12 subsection (a) shall be made from amounts appropriated

13 to the Department of Defense for fiscal year 1994 for re14 search, development, test, and evaluation.

15 (c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—To be eligible to be se16 lected for a grant under subsection (a), an institution—

17 (1) must be affiliated with an accredited hos18 pital and be affiliated with, and in close proximity

19 to, a Department of Defense medical center and a

20 Department of Veterans Affairs medical center;

21 (2) must enter into an agreement with the Sec22 retary of Defense to ensure that research personnel

23 of those affiliated medical facilities and other rel24 evant Federal personnel may have access to the fa25 cility to carry out research;
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1 (3) must have demonstrated potential or ability

2 to ensure the participation of scientific personnel

3 with expertise in research on possible chemical sen4 sitivities to low-level exposure to volatile organic

5 chemicals and other substances; and

6 (4) must have immediate access to sophisticated

7 physiological imaging (including functional brain im8 aging) and other innovative research technology that

9 could better define the possible health effects of low10 level exposure to volatile organic chemicals and other

11 substances and lead to new therapies.

12 SEC. 3. RESEARCH PROGRAM.

13 Research to be conducted at the facility for which a

14 grant is made under section 2 shall explore, in an environ15 mentally controlled setting, the health effects in humans

16 of exposure to low levels of volatile organic chemicals and

17 other substances and the individual susceptibility of hu18 mans to such exposure. Such research shall focus on (but

19 shall not be limited to) persons who, while serving on ac20 tive duty in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia thea21 ter of operation during the Persian Gulf War, may have

22 been exposed to environmental hazards or chemical sub23 stances (including petrochemicals, smoke from burning

24 landfills or petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, or
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1 other chemicals or agents utilized by the Department of

2 Defense).

3 SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.

4 The Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress

5 an annual report on activities under this Act during the

6 preceding year.

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