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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 environ-
mental 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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Persian Gulf War En-
vironmental Hazards Study Act’’.
SEC. 2. STARTUP GRANT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense shall
make a grant in the amount of $950,000 to a medical
research institution selected through established acquisi-
tion procedures for the purpose of constructing and equip-
ping a specialized environmental medical facility at that
institution with the purpose of studying the possible health
effects of exposure to low levels of volatile organic chemi-
cals and the individual susceptibility of humans to such
exposure under environmentally controlled conditions.
(b) FUNDING SOURCE.—Funds for the grant under
subsection (a) shall be made from amounts appropriated
to the Department of Defense for fiscal year 1994 for re-
search, development, test, and evaluation.
(c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—To be eligible to be se-
lected for a grant under subsection (a), an institution—
(1) must be affiliated with an accredited hos-
pital and be affiliated with, and in close proximity
to, a Department of Defense medical center and a
Department of Veterans Affairs medical center;
(2) must enter into an agreement with the Sec-
retary of Defense to ensure that research personnel
of those affiliated medical facilities and other rel-
evant Federal personnel may have access to the fa-
cility to carry out research;
(3) must have demonstrated potential or ability
to ensure the participation of scientific personnel
with expertise in research on possible chemical sen-
sitivities to low-level exposure to volatile organic
chemicals and other substances; and
(4) must have immediate access to sophisticated
physiological imaging (including functional brain im-
aging) and other innovative research technology that
could better define the possible health effects of low-
level exposure to volatile organic chemicals and other
substances and lead to new therapies.
SEC. 3. RESEARCH PROGRAM.
Research to be conducted at the facility for which a
grant is made under section 2 shall explore, in an environ-
mentally controlled setting, the health effects in humans
of exposure to low levels of volatile organic chemicals and
other substances and the individual susceptibility of hu-
mans to such exposure. Such research shall focus on (but
shall not be limited to) persons who, while serving on ac-
tive duty in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia thea-
ter of operation during the Persian Gulf War, may have
been exposed to environmental hazards or chemical sub-
stances (including petrochemicals, smoke from burning
landfills or petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, or
other chemicals or agents utilized by the Department of
Defense).
SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.
The Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress
an annual report on activities under this Act during the
preceding year.
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