A bill for compensation for Persian Gulf War veterans (14 febbraio)

This bill is an attempt to clarify two regulations that were not being fully implemented and to further define Undiagnosed Illnesses of the Gulf War Vets....and to force the VA to compensate the Gulf WAR VETERANS.



Introduced today FEB14

107TH CONGRESS H. R. __612______
1ST SESSION
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. MANZULLO introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on__________

                  A BILL

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the stand-
  ards for compensation for Persian Gulf veterans suf-
  fering from certain undiagnosed illnesses, and for other purposes.

  1       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
  2       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 Ill-
  5      ness Compensation Act of 2001".

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  1     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  2    Congress makes the following findings:
  3         (1) Although the majority of veterans of the
  4    Armed Forces who served in the Persian Gulf War
  5    returned from the Southwest Asia theater of oper-
  6     ations to normal activities, many of those veterans
  7     have experienced a range of unexplained illnesses,
  8     including chronic fatigue, muscle and joint pain, loss
  9     of concentration, forgetfulness, headache, and rash.
  10       (2) Those veterans were potentially exposed to
  11   a wide range of biological and chemical agents in-
  12   eluding sand, smoke from oil-well fires, paints, sol-
  13   vents, insecticides, petroleum fuels and their com-
  14   bustion products, organophosphate nerve agents,
  15   pyridostigmine bromide, depleted uranium, anthrax
  16   and botulinum toroid vaccinations, and infectious
  17   diseases, in addition to other psychological and phys-
  18   iological stresses.
  19        (3) Section 1117 of title 38, United States
  20   Code, enacted on November 2, 1994, by the Persian
  21   Gulf War Veterans' Benefits Act (title I of Public
  22   Law 103-446), provides for the payment of com-
  23   pensation to Persian Gulf veterans suffering from a
  24   chronic disability resulting from an undiagnosed ill-
  25   ness (or combination of undiagnosed illnesses) that

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  1    became manifest to a compensable degree within a
  2    period prescribed by regulation.
  3           (4) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs pre-
  4    scribed regulations under section 1117 of title 38,
  5    United States Code, that interpreted that section so
  6    as to limit compensation to Persian Gulf veterans
  7    with illnesses that "cannot be attributed to any
  8    known clinical diagnosis".
  9           (5) In a report dated September 7, 2000, the
  10  Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of
  11  Sciences indicated that it was not asked to deter-
  12 mine whether an identifiable medical syndrome re
  13  ferred to as "Gulf War Syndrome" exists and sug.-
  14  gested that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in de-
  15  veloping· a compensation program for Persian Gulf
  16  veterans, consider the health effects that may be as-
  17  sociated with exposures to specific agents that were
  18  present in the Southwest Asia theater of operations
  19  during the Persian Gulf War.
  20  sec. 3. COMPENSATION OF VETERANS OF PERSIAN GULF
  21  WAR WHO HAVE CERTAIN ILLNESSES.
  22     (a) PRESUMPTION PERIOD FOR UNDIAGNOSED ILL-
  23  NESSES PROGRAM.--Section 1117 of title 38, United
  24  States Code, is amended--

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  1          (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking "within the
  2     presumptive period prescribed under subsection (b)"
  3     and inserting "before December 31, 2011, or such
  4     later date as the Secretary may prescribe by regula-
  5     tion"; and
  6          (2) by striking subsection (b).
  7     (b) UNDIAGNOSED ILLNESSES.--Such section, as
  8     amended by subsection (a); is further amended by insert-
  9     ing after subsection (a) the following new subsection (b):
  10       "(b)(l) For purposes of this section, the term
  11   'undiagnosed illness' means illness manifested by syrnp-
  12   toms or signs the cause, etiology, or origin of which cannot
  13   be specifically and definitely identified, including poorly
  14   defined illnesses such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syn-
  15   drome, autoimmune disorders, and multiple chemical sensi-
  16   tivity. The attribution of one or more of the symptoms
  17   to a disability that is not an undiagnosed illness shall not
  18   preclude other symptoms from being considered a mani-
  19   festation of an undiagnosed illness.
  20                "(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), signs or symp-
  21   toms that may be a manifestation of an undiagnosed ill-
  22   ness include the following:
  23                     "(A) Fatigue.
  24                     "(B) Unexplained rashes
  25                             logical signs or symptoms.
 
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  1                      "(C) Headache.
  2                      "(D) Muscle pain.
  3                      "(E) Joint pain.
  4                      "(F) Neurologic signs or symptoms.
  5                       "(G) Neuropsychological signs or symptoms.
  6                       "(H) Signs or symptoms involving the res-
  7                               piratory system (upper or lower).
  8                       "(I) Sleep disturbances.
  9                       "(J) Gastrointestinal signs or symptoms.
  10                     "(K) Cardiovascular signs or symptoms.
  11                     "(L) Abnormal weight loss.
  12                     "(M) Menstrual disorders.".
  13          (c) PRESUMPTION OF SERVICE CONNECTION PRO-
  14     GRAM. ----Section 1118(a) of such title is amended by add-
  15     ing at the end the following new paragraph:
  16           "(4) For purposes of this section, the term
  17      'undiagnosed illness' has the meaning given that term in
  18      section 1117(b) of this title.".
  19           (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.--(l) For purposes of section
  20      5110(g) of title 38, United States Code--
  21           (A) the amendments to section 1117 of title 38,
  22      United States Code, made by subsections (a), (b),
  23      and (c) shah take effect as of November 2, 1994;
  24      and

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  1           (B) the amendment to section 1118 of title 38,
  2        United States Code, made by subsection (d) shall
  3        take effect as of October 21, 1998.
  4        (2) The second sentence of section 5110(g) of title
  5        38, United States Code, shall not apply in the case of an
  6        award, or increased award, of compensation pursuant to
  7        the amendments made by this section if the date of appli-
  8        cation therefor is not later than one year after the date
  9        of the enactment of this Act.



Commento: mentre da noi si fanno le commissioni degli esperti per riscoprire gli effetti della contaminazione radioattiva, negli USA fanno i disegni di legge per compensare i veterani...