I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4386
To amend title 38, United States Code, authorizing the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs to provide compensation to veterans suffering from disabilities
resulting from illnesses attributed to service in the Persian Gulf theater
of operations during the Persian Gulf War, to provide for increased
research into illnesses reported by Persian Gulf War veterans, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 11, 1994
Mr. MONTGOMERY (for himself, Mr. SLATTERY, Mr. ROWLAND, Mr. BILI-
RAKIS, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. STEARNS, and Mr. BISHOP)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, authorizing the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs to provide compensation to
veterans suffering from disabilities resulting from ill-
nesses attributed to service in the Persian Gulf theater
of operations during the Persian Gulf War, to provide
for increased research into illnesses reported by Persian
Gulf War veterans, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans’ Persian Gulf
War Benefits Act’’.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) During the Persian Gulf War, members of
the Armed Forces were exposed to numerous poten-
tially toxic substances, including fumes and smoke
from military operations, oil well fires, diesel ex-
haust, paints, pesticides, depleted uranium, infec-
tious agents, chemoprophylactic agents, and indige-
nous diseases, and were also given multiple immuni-
zations. Threats of enemy use of chemical and bio-
logical warfare heightened the psychological stress
associated with the military operation.
(2) Significant numbers of veterans of the Per-
sian Gulf War are suffering from illnesses, or are ex-
hibiting symptoms of illness, that cannot now be di-
agnosed or clearly defined. As a result, many of
these conditions or illnesses are not considered to be
service connected under current law for purposes of
benefits administered by the Department of Veter-
ans Affairs.
(3) Scientists have concluded that the complex
biological, chemical, physical, and psychological envi-
ronment of the Southwest Asia theater of operations
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produced complex adverse health effects in Persian
Gulf War veterans and that it appears that no single
disease entity or syndrome exists. Rather, it appears
that the illnesses suffered by those veterans result
from multiple illnesses with overlapping symptoms
and causes that have yet to be defined.
(4) In response to concerns regarding the
health-care needs of Persian Gulf War veterans, par-
ticularly those who suffer from illnesses or condi-
tions for which no diagnosis has been made, the
Congress, in Public Law 102–585, directed the es-
tablishment of a Persian Gulf War Veterans Health
Registry, authorized health examinations for veter-
ans of the Persian Gulf War, and provided for the
National Academy of Sciences to conduct a com-
prehensive review and assessment of information re-
garding the health consequences of military service
in the Persian Gulf theater of operations and to de-
velop recommendations on avenues for research re-
garding such health consequences. In Public Law
103–210, the Congress authorized the Department
of Veterans Affairs to provide health care services on
a priority basis to Persian Gulf War veterans. The
Congress also provided in Public Law 103–160 (the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
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1994) for funding for the establishment of a special-
ized environmental medical facility for the conduct
of research into the possible health effects of expo-
sure to low levels of hazardous chemicals especially
among Persian Gulf veterans and for research into
the possible health effects of battlefield exposure in
such veterans to depleted uranium.
(5) Further research and studies must be un-
dertaken to determine the underlying causes of the
illnesses suffered by Persian Gulf War veterans and,
pending the outcome of such research, veterans who
are seriously ill as the result of such illnesses should
be provided compensation benefits to offset the im-
pairment in earnings capacities they may be experi-
encing.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs to provide compensation for a period not to ex-
ceed 3 years to Persian Gulf War veterans who suf-
fer disabilities resulting from illnesses that cannot
now be diagnosed or defined, and for which other
causes cannot be identified,
(2) to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
to develop at the earliest possible date case assess-
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ment strategies and definitions or diagnoses of such
illnesses,
(3) to promote greater outreach to Persian Gulf
War veterans and their families to inform them of
the services and benefits to which they are currently
entitled, and
(4) to ensure that research activities and ac-
companying surveys of Persian Gulf War veterans
are appropriately funded and undertaken by the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs.
SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT OF CASE ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL,
CASE 
DEFINITION, 
AND 
OUTREACH 
PRO-
GRAM FOR PERSIAN GULF WAR VETERANS.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation
with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, shall—
(1) develop and implement at the earliest pos-
sible date a uniform case assessment protocol that
will ensure thorough assessment, diagnosis, and
treatment of all Persian Gulf War veterans suffering
from illness attributed to service in the Southwest
Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf
War;
(2) expedite efforts to develop case definitions
or diagnoses for illnesses associated with such serv-
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ice and seek to complete development of such case
definitions or diagnoses at the earliest possible date;
and
(3) develop and implement a comprehensive
outreach program to inform Persian Gulf War veter-
ans and their families of health-care services, includ-
ing comprehensive medical evaluations for such vet-
erans, or other benefits or services that may be pro-
vided by the Department of Veterans Affairs or the
Department of Defense.
SEC. 5. COMPENSATION BENEFITS FOR DISABILITY RE-
SULTING FROM ILLNESS ATTRIBUTED TO
SERVICE DURING THE PERSIAN GULF WAR.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 11 of title 38, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end of sub-
chapter I the following new section:
‘‘§ 1117. Compensation 
for 
disabilities 
associated
with Persian Gulf War
‘‘(a) The Secretary shall pay compensation under this
subchapter to a Persian Gulf veteran suffering from a
chronic disability resulting from an undiagnosed illness (or
combination of undiagnosed illnesses) that became mani-
fest to a degree of 10 percent or more within one year
after the last date on which the veteran performed active
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military, naval, or air service in the Southwest Asia thea-
ter of operations while on active duty.
‘‘(b) A disability for which compensation under this
subchapter is payable shall be considered to be service con-
nected for purposes of all other laws of the United States.
‘‘(c) Compensation may not be paid under this sec-
tion with respect to a disability occurring in a veteran—
‘‘(1) where there is affirmative evidence that
the disability was not incurred by the veteran during
service in the Persian Gulf theater of operations
during the Persian Gulf War; or
‘‘(2) where there is affirmative evidence to es-
tablish that an intercurrent injury or illness which is
a recognized cause of the disability was suffered by
the veteran between the date of the veteran’s most
recent departure from that theater of operations
while on active duty and the onset of the disability.
‘‘(d) The Secretary may not make payments under
this section with respect to a disability for which com-
pensation is paid under this section for any month after
the month during which the Secretary determines that
such disability is not related to service in the Southwest
Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War.
‘‘(e) For purposes of this section, the term ‘Persian
Gulf veteran’ means a veteran who served on active duty
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in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia theater of op-
erations during the period beginning on August 2,1990,
and ending on the date of the enactment of this section.
‘‘(f) No payment may be made under this section for
any month that begins after the end of the three-year pe-
riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion.’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 1116 the following new item:
‘‘1117. Presumption of service connection for illnesses associated with Persian
Gulf War.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 1117 of title 38,
United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take
effect on October 1, 1994.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR PER-
SIAN GULF ILLNESS RESEARCH.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs $5,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 1995 through 1997 for the conduct of research,
which the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of
Defense and the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
determines would advance understanding of health risks
and effects of service during the Persian Gulf War and
effective means of treating such health effects.