I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3279
To provide a scientific basis for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to determine
whether service connection for veterans of service during the Persian
Gulf War should be presumed for certain diseases and disabilities, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 26, 1998
Mr. EVANS (for himself, Mr. MASCARA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. FILNER, Mr.
BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. PE-
TERSON of Minnesota, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. REYES, Mr. BISHOP,
Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Ms. CARSON, and Mr. KENNEDY of
Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Na-
tional Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide a scientific basis for the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs to determine whether service connection for veter-
ans of service during the Persian Gulf War should be
presumed for certain diseases and disabilities, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Persian Gulf Veterans Act of 1998’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Presumption of service connection for diseases and disabilities associ-
ated with service in the Persian Gulf during the Persian Gulf
War.
Sec. 3. Agreement with National Academy of Sciences.
Sec. 4. Monitoring of health status and treatment of Persian Gulf veterans.
Sec. 5. Research on diagnostic technologies and technologies for measuring ex-
posure to certain toxic agents or environmental or wartime
hazards associated with Gulf War service.
Sec. 6. Outreach to Persian Gulf veterans.
Sec. 7. Definitions.
SEC. 2. PRESUMPTION OF SERVICE CONNECTION FOR DIS-
EASES AND DISABILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH
SERVICE IN THE PERSIAN GULF DURING THE
PERSIAN GULF WAR.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subchapter II of chapter 11
of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following new section:
‘‘§ 1118. Presumptions of service connection for dis-
eases and disabilities associated with
service in Southwest Asia during the Per-
sian Gulf War
‘‘(a)(1) For purposes of section 1110 of this title, and
subject to section 1113 of this title, a disease or disability
described in paragraph (2) or (3) occurring in a Persian
Gulf veteran shall be considered to be a disease incurred
‘‘(B) A determination described in this subparagraph
is a determination based on sound medical and scientific
evidence that a positive association exists between—
‘‘(i) the exposure of humans to a biological,
chemical, or other toxic agent or environmental or
wartime hazard known or presumed to be associated
with service in the Southwest Asia theater of oper-
ations during the Persian Gulf War; and
‘‘(ii) 
the 
occurrence 
of 
a 
diagnosed 
or
undiagnosed disease or disability in humans.
‘‘(C) A determination described in this subparagraph
is a determination based on sound medical and scientific
evidence that a disease or disability (other than a disease
or disability covered by a determination under subpara-
graph (B)) has a prevalence among Persian Gulf veterans
greater than its prevalence in a population of matched
peers who are veterans or active duty servicemembers of
the same era who were neither deployed nor vaccinated
for deployment.
‘‘(2)(A) In making determinations for purposes of
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall take into account—
‘‘(i) the reports submitted to the Secretary by
the National Academy of Sciences under section 3 of
the Persian Gulf Veterans Act of 1998; and
‘‘(ii) all other sound medical and scientific in-
formation and analyses available to the Secretary.
‘‘(B) In evaluating any report, information, or analy-
sis for purposes of making such determinations, the Sec-
retary shall take into consideration whether the results
are—
‘‘(i) statistically significant;
‘‘(ii) capable of replication; and
‘‘(iii) withstand peer review.
‘‘(3) An association between the occurrence of a dis-
ease or disability in humans and exposure to an agent or
hazard shall be considered to be positive for purposes of
this subsection if the credible evidence for the association
is equal to or outweighs the credible evidence against the
association.
‘‘(c)(1)(A) Not later than 60 days after the date on
which the Secretary receives a report from the National
Academy of Sciences under section 3 of the Persian Gulf
Veterans Act of 1998, the Secretary shall determine
whether a presumption of service connection under this
section is warranted for each disease or disability (if any)
covered by the report.
‘‘(B) If the Secretary determines that a presumption
of service connection is warranted, the Secretary shall, not
later than 60 days after making the determination, issue
proposed regulations setting forth the Secretary’s deter-
mination.
‘‘(C)(i) If the Secretary determines that a presump-
tion of service connection is not warranted, the Secretary
shall, not later than 60 days after making the determina-
tion, publish in the Federal Register a notice of the deter-
mination. The notice shall include an explanation of the
scientific basis for the determination.
‘‘(ii) If a disease or disability already presumed to
be service connected under this section is subject to a de-
termination under clause (i), the Secretary shall, not later
than 60 days after publication of the notice under that
clause, issue proposed regulations removing the presump-
tion of service connection for the disease or disability.
‘‘(2) Not later than 90 days after the date on which
the Secretary issues any proposed regulations under para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall issue final regulations. Such
regulations shall be effective on the date of issuance.
‘‘(d) Whenever a presumption of service connection
for a disease or disability under this section is removed
under subsection (c)—
‘‘(1) a veteran who was awarded compensation
for the disease or disability on the basis of the pre-
sumption before the effective date of the removal of
the presumption shall continue to be entitled to re-
ceive compensation on that basis; and
‘‘(2) a survivor of a veteran who was awarded
dependency and indemnity compensation for the
death of a veteran resulting from the disease or dis-
ability on the basis of the presumption before that
date shall continue to be entitled to receive depend-
ency and indemnity compensation on that basis.
‘‘(e) Subsections (b) through (d) shall cease to be ef-
fective 10 years after the first day of the fiscal year in
which the National Academy of Sciences submits to the
Secretary the first report under section 3 of the Persian
Gulf Veterans Act of 1998.
‘‘(f) In this section, the term ‘Persian Gulf veteran’
means a veteran who served on active duty in the South-
west Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf
War.’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 1117 the following new item:
‘‘1118. Presumptions of service connection for diseases or disabilities associated
with service in Southwest Asia during the Persian Gulf War.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 1113 of
title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking out ‘‘or 1117’’ each place it ap-
pears and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘1117, or 1118’’;
and
(2) in subsection (a), by striking out ‘‘or 1116’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘, 1116, or 1118’’.
(c) COMPENSATION FOR UNDIAGNOSED GULF WAR
DISEASES AND DISABILITIES.—Section 1117 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and
(e) as subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow-
ing new subsection (c):
‘‘(c)(1) Whenever the Secretary determines as a re-
sult of a determination under section 1118(c) of this title
that a presumption of service connection for an
undiagnosed disease or disability (or combination of
undiagnosed diseases or disabilities) is no longer war-
ranted under this section—
‘‘(A) a veteran who was awarded compensation
under this section for such disease (or combination
of diseases or disabilities) on the basis of the pre-
sumption shall continue to be entitled to receive
compensation under this section on that basis; and
‘‘(B) a survivor of a veteran who was awarded
dependency and indemnity compensation for the
death of a veteran resulting from the disease on the
basis of the presumption before that date shall con-
tinue to be entitled to receive dependency and in-
demnity compensation on that basis.
‘‘(2) This subsection shall cease to be effective 10
years after the first day of the fiscal year in which the
National Academy of Sciences submits to the Secretary
the first report under section 3 of the Persian Gulf Veter-
ans Act of 1998.’’.
SEC. 
3. 
AGREEMENT 
WITH 
NATIONAL 
ACADEMY 
OF
SCIENCES.
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro-
vide for the National Academy of Sciences, an independent
nonprofit scientific organization with appropriate exper-
tise, to—
(1) review and evaluate the available scientific
evidence, including animal studies, regarding asso-
ciations between various diseases and exposure to
toxic agents or environmental or wartime hazards
associated with Gulf War service; and
(2) determine the comparative prevalence of
various symptoms and diseases in the population of
Persian Gulf veterans to the prevalence of those
symptoms and diseases in a population of matched
peers 
who 
are 
veterans 
or 
active 
duty
servicemembers of the same era who were neither
deployed nor vaccinated for deployment.
(b) AGREEMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall seek to enter into an agreement with the National
Academy of Sciences for the Academy to perform the serv-
ices covered by this section and sections 4(a)(6), 5(d), and
6(d). The Secretary shall seek to enter into the agreement
not later than two months after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(c) IDENTIFICATION OF AGENTS AND DISEASES AND
DISABILITIES.—(1) Under the agreement under sub-
section (b), the National Academy of Sciences shall—
(A) identify the biological, chemical, or other
toxic agents or environmental or wartime hazards to
which members of the Armed Forces who served in
the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the
Persian Gulf War may have been exposed by reason
of such service; and
(B) identify the diseases (including diagnosed
diseases and undiagnosed diseases, symptoms, and
conditions) that are manifest in those members.
(2) In identifying diseases under paragraph (1)(B),
the Academy shall review and summarize the relevant sci-
entific evidence regarding diseases among Persian Gulf
veterans and among other appropriate populations of indi-
viduals. The evidence reviewed and summarized shall in-
clude evidence regarding mortality, symptoms, adverse re-
productive health outcomes among those veterans and
among other individuals, and such other matters as the
Academy considers appropriate. With respect to each such
disease and disability, the Academy shall also identify all
scientific evidence that indicates a prevalence of that dis-
ease in Persian Gulf veterans greater than its prevalence
among matched peers who are veterans or active duty
servicemembers of the same era who were neither deployed
nor vaccinated for deployment.
(d) DETERMINATIONS OF ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN
AGENTS AND DISEASES AND DISABILITIES.—(1) For each
agent or hazard and disease identified under subsection
(c), the National Academy of Sciences shall determine (to
the extent that available scientific data permit meaningful
determinations) the following:
(A) Whether a statistical association exists be-
tween exposure to the agent or hazard and the dis-
ease, taking into account the strength of the sci-
entific evidence and the appropriateness of the sci-
entific methodology used to detect the association.
(B) The increased risk of the disease among
human populations exposed to the agent or hazard.
(C) Whether a plausible biological mechanism
or other evidence of a causal relationship exists be-
tween exposure to the agent or hazard and the dis-
ease.
(D) The latency period which may be associated
between exposure to the agent or hazard and the
manifestation of the disease.
(2) In a case in which the determination of the Acad-
emy under paragraph (1)(C) with respect to whether there
is a causal relationship between exposure to an agent or
hazard and a disease is that such a relationship does not
exist, the Academy shall determine whether that disease
nevertheless occurs in Persian Gulf veterans with a preva-
lence greater than its prevalence in matched peers who
are veterans or active duty servicemembers of the same
era who were neither deployed nor vaccinated for deploy-
ment.
(3) The Academy shall include in its reports under
subsection (i) a full discussion of the scientific evidence
and reasoning that led to its conclusions under this sub-
section.
(e) REVIEW OF POTENTIAL TREATMENT MODELS
FOR CERTAIN DISEASES AND DISABILITIES.—Under the
agreement under subsection (b), the National Academy of
Sciences shall separately review, for each chronic
undiagnosed disease identified under subsection (c)(1)(B)
and for any additional chronic disease that the Academy
determines to warrant such review, the available scientific
information in order to identify empirically valid models
of successful treatment for those populations with similar
diseases or symptoms.
(f) REVIEW OF EVOLVING TECHNOLOGIES.—Under
the agreement under subsection (b), the National Acad-
emy of Sciences shall—
(1) identify the evolving technologies that are
available to identify the level of exposure of Persian
Gulf veterans to biological, chemical, or other toxic
agents or environmental or wartime hazards to
which members of the Armed Forces who served in
the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the
Persian Gulf War may have been exposed by reason
of such service; and
(2) assess the applicability of those technologies
in diagnosing conditions and symptoms of those vet-
erans.
(g) RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR
ADDITIONAL
SCI-
ENTIFIC STUDIES.—Under the agreement under sub-
section (b), the National Academy of Sciences shall make
any recommendations that it considers appropriate for ad-
ditional scientific studies (including studies relating to
treatment models) to resolve areas of continuing scientific
uncertainty relating to the health consequences of expo-
sure to toxic agents or environmental or wartime hazards
associated with Gulf War service and for determining the
prevalence of symptoms and conditions in Persian Gulf
veterans. In making recommendations for additional stud-
ies, the Academy shall consider the available scientific in-
formation, the value and relevance of the information that
could result from such additional studies, and the cost and
feasibility of carrying out such additional studies.
(h) SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS.—Under the agreement
under subsection (b), the National Academy of Sciences
shall conduct on a periodic and ongoing basis additional
reviews of the evidence and data relating to its activities
under this section. As part of each such review, the Acad-
emy shall—
(1) conduct as comprehensive a review as is
practicable of the evidence referred to in subsection
(c) and the information and other matters referred
to in subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g) that became
available since the last review of such evidence and
data under this section; and
(2) make its determinations on the basis of the
results of such review and all other reviews con-
ducted for the purposes of this section.
(i) REPORTS.—(1) Under the agreement under sub-
section (b), the National Academy of Sciences shall submit
periodic written reports regarding the Academy’s activities
under the agreement to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
the Secretary of Defense, and the designated congressional
committees. Such reports shall be submitted at least once
every two years.
(2) The first report under paragraph (1) shall be
transmitted not later than 18 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act. That report shall include the
following:
(A) The determinations and discussion referred
to in subsection (d).
(B) The results of the review of models of
treatment under subsection (e).
(C) Any recommendation of the Academy under
subsection (g).
(3) In any report under this subsection after the first
report, the Academy may specify an absence of meaningful
developments in the scientific or medical community with
respect to the activities of the Academy under this section
during the two-year period preceding the date of the re-
port.
(j) SUNSET.—This section, and any agreement en-
tered into under this section, shall cease to be effective
10 years after the last day of the fiscal year during which
the National Academy of Sciences submits the first report
under subsection (i).
(k) ALTERNATIVE CONTRACT SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZA-
TION.—(1) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is unable
within the time period set forth in subsection (b) to enter
into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences
for the purposes of this section on terms acceptable to the
Secretary, the Secretary shall seek to enter into an agree-
ment for the purposes of this section with another appro-
priate scientific organization that is not part of the Gov-
ernment and operates as a not-for-profit entity and that
has expertise and objectivity comparable to that of the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences.
(2) If the Secretary enters into such an agreement
with another organization, any reference in this section
and in section 1118 of title 38, United States Code (as
added by section 2), to the National Academy of Sciences
shall be treated as a reference to that other organization.
SEC. 4. MONITORING OF HEALTH STATUS AND TREATMENT
OF PERSIAN GULF VETERANS.
(a) INFORMATION DATABASE.—(1) The Secretary of
Veterans Affairs shall, in consultation with the Secretary
of Defense, develop a plan for the establishment and oper-
ation of a single computerized information database for
the collection, storage, and analysis of information on—
(A) the diagnosed and undiagnosed diseases
suffered by current and former members of the
Armed Forces who served in the Southwest Asia the-
ater of operations during the Persian Gulf War; and
(B) the treatment provided such members for—
(i) any chronic undiagnosed diseases; and
(ii) any chronic diseases for which the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences has identified a
valid model of treatment pursuant to its review
under section 3(e).
(2) The plan shall provide for the commencement of
the operation of the database not later than 18 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(3) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure
in the plan that the database provides the capability of
monitoring and analyzing information on—
(A) the diseases covered by paragraph (1)(A);
(B) the treatments covered by paragraph
(1)(B); and
(C) the efficacy of such treatments.
(4) In order to meet the requirement under para-
graph (3), the plan shall ensure that the database includes
the following:
(A) Information in the Persian Persian Gulf
Veterans Health Registry established under section
702 of the Persian Gulf War Veterans’ Health Sta-
tus Act (title VII of Public Law 102–585; 38 U.S.C.
527 note).
(B) Information in the Comprehensive Clinical
Evaluation Program for Veterans established under
section 734 of the National Defense Authorization
Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 (10 U.S.C.
1074 note).
(C) Information derived from other examina-
tions and treatment provided to veterans who served
in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during
the Persian Gulf War.
(D) Information derived from other examina-
tions and treatment provided to current members of
the Armed Forces (including members on active
duty and members of the reserve components) who
served in that theater of operations during that war.
(E) Information on claims for compensation,
and for dependency and indemnity compensation,
arising from service in the Persian Gulf theater of
operations during the Persian War, including the
number of such claims filed, the number adju-
dicated, the number and types of for which com-
pensation is granted, and the ratings granted for
compensated disabilities.
(F) Such other information as the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary
of Defense, considers appropriate.
(5) Not later than one year after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall submit the plan developed under paragraph (1) to
the following:
(A) The Secretary of Defense.
(B) The National Academy of Sciences.
(C) The designated congressional committees.
(6)(A) The agreement under section 3 shall require
the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the plan de-
veloped under paragraph (1). The Academy shall complete
the evaluation of the plan not later than 90 days after
the date of its submittal to the Academy under paragraph
(5).
(B) Upon completion of its evaluation, the Academy
shall submit a report on the evaluation to the officers and
committees specified in paragraph (5).
(7) Not later than 90 days after receipt of the report
under paragraph (6), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall—
(A) modify the plan in light of the evaluation
of the Academy in the report; and
(B) commence implementation of the plan as so
modified.
(b) COMPILATION AND ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION
IN DATABASE.—(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall compile and analyze, on an ongoing basis, all clinical
data in the database under subsection (a) that may be
scientifically useful in determining the association, if any,
between the diseases (including diagnosed diseases and
undiagnosed diseases) of veterans covered by such data
and exposure to toxic agents or environmental or wartime
hazards associated with Gulf War service.
(2) The Secretary of Defense shall compile and ana-
lyze, on an ongoing basis, all clinical data in the database
that may be scientifically useful in determining the asso-
ciation, if any, between the diseases (including diagnosed
diseases and undiagnosed diseases) of current members of
the Armed Forces (including members on active duty and
members of the reserve components) and exposure to such
agents or hazards.
(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than April 1 of each
year after a year in which the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs and the Secretary of Defense carry out activities
under subsection (b), the Secretaries shall jointly submit
to the designated congressional committees a report con-
taining the following:
(1) With respect to the data compiled in accord-
ance with subsection (b) during the preceding year—
(A) an analysis of the data;
(B) a discussion of the types, incidences,
and prevalence of the disabilities and diseases
identified through such data;
(C) with respect to each such disability or
disease—
(i) an explanation for the incidence
and prevalence of such disability or dis-
ease;
(ii) other reasonable explanations for
the incidence and prevalence of such dis-
ability or disease;
(iii) an analysis of the scientific valid-
ity of drawing conclusions from the inci-
dence and prevalence of such disability or
disease, as evidenced by such data, about
any association between such disability or
disease and exposure to a toxic agent or
environmental or wartime hazard associ-
ated with Gulf War service; and
(iv) comparative information on the
incidence and prevalence of such disability
or disease in matched peers who are veter-
ans or active duty servicemembers of the
same era who were neither deployed nor
vaccinated for deployment.
(2) With respect to the most current informa-
tion received under section 3(i) regarding treatment
models reviewed under section 3(e)—
(A) an analysis of the information;
(B) the results of any consultation between
such Secretaries regarding the implementation
of such treatment models in the health care sys-
tems of the Department of Veterans Affairs
and the Department of Defense; and
(C) in the event either such Secretary de-
termines not to implement such treatment mod-
els, an explanation for such determination.
(3) Identification of those diseases and disabil-
ities occurring among Persian Gulf veterans which
may merit service-connected compensation by virtue
of research completed by the Academy and the infor-
mation identified under paragraph (1)(C)(iv).
SEC. 5. RESEARCH ON DIAGNOSTIC TECHNOLOGIES AND
TECHNOLOGIES FOR MEASURING EXPOSURE
TO CERTAIN TOXIC AGENTS OR ENVIRON-
MENTAL OR WARTIME HAZARDS ASSOCIATED
WITH GULF WAR SERVICE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of
Defense and the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
shall carry out a research program to provide for the con-
duct of studies of the evolving technologies that are avail-
able to facilitate—
(1) measurement of incidence of, and extent of
exposure to, toxic agents or environmental or war-
time hazards associated with Gulf War service; and
(2) diagnosis of diseases resulting from such ex-
posure.
(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Under the pro-
gram under subsection (a), the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs shall, pursuant to criteria prescribed pursuant to
paragraph (2), award contracts or furnish financial assist-
ance to non-Government entities for the conduct of studies
referred to in subsection (a).
(2) The Secretaries shall jointly prescribe criteria
for—
(A) the selection of entities to be awarded con-
tracts or to receive financial assistance under the
program; and
(B) the approval of studies to be conducted
under such contracts or with such financial assist-
ance.
(c) REPORT.—The Secretaries shall jointly report the
results of studies conducted under the program to the des-
ignated congressional committees.
(d) CONSULTATION WITH NATIONAL ACADEMY OF
SCIENCES.—(1) To the extent provided under the agree-
ment entered into by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
and the National Academy of Sciences under section 3—
(A) the Secretary shall consult with the Acad-
emy regarding the establishment and administration
of the program under subsection (a); and
(B) the Academy shall review the studies con-
ducted under contracts awarded pursuant to the
program and the studies conducted with financial
assistance furnished pursuant to the program.
(2) The agreement shall require the Academy to sub-
mit any recommendations that the Academy considers ap-
propriate regarding any studies reviewed for purposes of
this subsection to the following:
(A) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
(B) The Secretary of Defense.
(C) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices.
(D) The designated congressional committees.
SEC. 6. OUTREACH TO PERSIAN GULF VETERANS.
(a) OUTREACH BY SECRETARY OF VETERANS AF-
FAIRS.—(1) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry
out an ongoing program to provide veterans who are Per-
sian Gulf veterans the information described in subsection
(c). The program shall be carried out in consultation with
the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Health and
Human Services.
(2) The Secretary shall include in the annual report
of the Secretary under section 529 of title 38, United
States Code, a report on outreach activities to Persian
Gulf veterans carried out by the Secretary during the pe-
riod covered by the report with respect to information de-
scribed in subsection (c). The Secretary shall specifically
describe the outreach efforts made to veterans service or-
ganizations as part of such activities.
(b) OUTREACH BY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.—The
Secretary of Defense shall carry out an ongoing program
to provide current members of the Armed Forces (includ-
ing members on active duty and members of the reserve
components) who are Persian Gulf veterans the informa-
tion described in subsection (c). The program shall be car-
ried out in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(c) COVERED
INFORMATION.—Information under
this subsection is information relating to—
(1) the health risks, if any, resulting from expo-
sure to toxic agents or environmental or wartime
hazards associated with Gulf War service; and
(2) any services or benefits available with re-
spect to such health risks.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘toxic agent or environmental or
wartime hazard associated with Gulf War service’’
means a biological, chemical, or other toxic agent,
anthrax vaccine or botulinum toxoid vaccine or
pyridostigmine bromide, or an environmental or war-
time hazard that is known or presumed to be associ-
ated with service in the Armed Forces in the South-
west Asia theater of operations during the Persian
Gulf War, including the following:
(A) Pesticides and repellents.
(B) Medications to include pyridostigmine
bromide.
(C) Vaccinations.
(D) Low-level exposures to biological and
chemical warfare agents.
(E) Ionizing radiation, to include depleted
uranium.
(F) Environmental particulates and pollut-
ants.
(G) Endemic infectious diseases.
(H) The synergistic effects of the above ex-
posures.
(2) The term ‘‘Persian Gulf veteran’’ means a
veteran or member of the Armed Forces who served
on active duty in the Southwest Asia theater of op-
erations during the Persian Gulf War.
(3) The term ‘‘vaccinated for deployment’’
means vaccinated for anthrax or for botulinum tox-
oid before deployment to the Southwest Asia theater
of operations.
(4) The term ‘‘designated congressional com-
mittees’’ means the following:
(A) The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
and the Committee on Armed Services of the
Senate.
(B) The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
and the Committee on National Security of the
House of Representatives.
Æ