Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRAYSON. Madam Chair, this amendment would increase the Defense health program account by $10 million in order to fund a cure for Gulf War illness. Currently, there is no cure for Gulf War illness, and it affects over a third of the veterans who served in the first Gulf War.

This amendment is identical to an amendment offered last year that passed this body by a voice vote, and according to the Congressional Budget Office, this amendment actually will reduce total outlays by $1 million.

Veterans of the first Gulf War suffer from persistent symptoms, including chronic headaches, widespread pain, cognitive difficulties, debilitating fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, respiratory symptoms, and other abnormalities that are not explained by traditional medicine or psychiatric diagnoses.

Research shows that as veterans from the first Gulf War age, they are twice as likely to develop Lou Gehrig's disease as their nondeployed peers. There also may be connections to multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Sadly, there are no known treatments for the lifelong pain and affliction that these veterans must endure through this disease.

For decades, the Veterans Administration has downplayed any neurological basis for this disease, but recent research just this year has shown unequivocally that this disease is biological in nature. The time has come to right the wrong that our servicemen and -women have had to live with for over 20 years.

In this Department of Defense appropriations bill, we allocate more money for breast cancer, orthopedic, and prostate cancer research than we do for finding a cure for Gulf War illness. Equivalent funds are appropriated for ovarian cancer research.

Personally, I think if we are going to spend money on medical research within the Department of Defense, the Department must adequately fund research on those diseases that originate in war and wholly affect our servicemen and -women. Over a quarter of a million veterans display symptoms of this disease, and the time has come to find and fund a cure for it.

The offset for my amendment today comes from the $32 million Operation and Maintenance Defense-wide account, and that account is funded $500 million above the amount in last year's DOD appropriations bill.

Congress has responsibility to ensure that the Gulf War veterans, who put it all on the line and are paying for that with a lifetime of pain, are not left behind.

I urge my colleagues, including my esteemed colleague from Florida, to support this amendment and help to find a cure for Gulf War illness.

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