Kucinich Wins $8 Million Dollars for Gulf War Illnesses Research
Washington, Dec 17 -
Efforts by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) to continue to help ailing veterans of the first Gulf War paid off yesterday when he won the inclusion of $8,000,000 for Gulf War Veterans Illnesses (GWVI) in H.R. 3326, the Defense Appropriations spending bill.
“One in four veterans of the first Gulf War suffers from Gulf War Veterans Illnesses. We absolutely cannot allow the research to be stopped. That is even more true recently as research has advanced dramatically in the last few years,” said Kucinich
Congressman Kucinich has consistently led the bipartisan Congressional effort to maintain this critical research. His most recent letter was signed by 26 Members of Congress including the bipartisan leadership of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Health Subcommittee as well as members of the Appropriations Committee and Armed Services Committee.
“We have a responsibility to find treatments for the soldiers who continue to pay a heavy price for their service over 15 years later. We cannot leave them behind,” added Kucinich
Last year, the 454-page report by the Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans Illnesses concluded that the extensive scientific evidence now available yields three conclusions: Gulf War illness is real, was caused by toxic exposures during the war, and there are no currently effective treatments.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
This does NOT indicate where the money will bespent and what research it will focus on, so is this a relevant victory or another "we are doing something" show? After almost 20 years and the bogus March 2003 Sarin report and the failure to even look at low level mustard agent exposures, DOD limited the IOM's research on the Sarin study to a very narrow margin and it ingored a 1994 NIH report on low level exposures to Sarin which indicated far more health issues than the IOM concluded, the main purpose of the DOD funded research is to limit the governments liabilities to veterans of the Gulf War, if they have to ignore the 75% disabled or deceased Edgewood Arsenal (test group) in order to achieve this they will, most of the 7120 Edgewood veterans (those knowingly exposed to chemical weapons and drugs. by the Army between 1955 - 1975) will this 8 million do any good?
Friday, December 18, 2009
Kucinich Wins $8 Million Dollars for Gulf War Illnesses Research
