12) WHAT DOES THE "DEAR COLLEAGUE" LETTER ACTUALLY SAY?
The text of the Sablan-Bergman (House) and Baldwin (Senate) Dear Colleague letters is below. They are naturally very similar.
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SENATE FY20 DEAR COLLEAGUE:
MARCH xx, 2019
The Honorable Richard Shelby The Honorable Richard Durbin
Chairman Vice Chairman
Subcommittee on Defense Subcommittee on Defense
Committee on Appropriations Committee on Appropriations
119 Dirksen Senate Office Building 113 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Shelby and Vice Chairman Durbin:
Thank you for your continued support for the Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) within the Department of Defense (DoD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), including the $22 million provided in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. As your Subcommittee begins work on the FY 2020 DoD Appropriations Bill, we are writing to share details of the program and to respectfully request that you include adequate funding to continue the GWIRP’s successful work on behalf of Gulf War veterans.
By
congressional design, the GWIRP is a unique medical research program narrowly focused on a vision of improved health and lives of Veterans who have Gulf War Illness (GWI). Successive reports by the congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (RAC) and the National Academy of Sciences (NASEM) have shown that: 1) Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a physical condition – likely caused by toxic exposures – that affects up to one-third of the nearly 700,000 veterans who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War; 2) Debilitating GWI symptoms typically include "some combination of widespread pain, headache, persistent problems with memory and thinking, fatigue, breathing problems, stomach and intestinal symptoms, and skin abnormalities."
(p.2),
While two-thirds of GWIRP studies are still in progress, the positive news is that there is a growing body of GWIRP-funded study results, many published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, that demonstrates steady advances of GWIRP’s goals
of identifying underlying mechanisms, diagnostic markers, and treatments.
1 For example, the GWIRP-funded consortia at Boston University and Nova Southeastern University identified several potential treatments through their interdisciplinary preclinical and computational biology research projects; those treatments will now be tested in the
Gulf War Illness Clinical Trials and Interventions Consortium (GWICTIC), which will include five clinical trials at seven study sites (three VA) to
target GWI’s inflammation, energy production, and immune function issues. And, the GWIRP-funded Boston Biorepository, Recruitment, and Integrative Network (BBRAIN) will aggregate biological samples and data to further advance GWI diagnostic marker efforts.
4These successes are the direct result of clear treatment-focused congressional direction, stable appropriations for the GWIRP, and effective GWIRP management.
Recognizing the program's progress, the last RAC report's recommendations remain instructive:
"Congress should maintain its funding to support the effective treatment-oriented [GWIRP]."2(p.14) These gradually building scientific results continue to represent encouraging steps toward achieving the 2010 NASEM treatment goals "to speed the development of effective treatments, cures, and, it is hoped, preventions"3(p.1) for current and future U.S. forces at risk of similar exposures and outcomes. Indeed, the GWIRP has served as a model of how to conduct treatment-oriented research to address a challenging illness and is succeeding where earlier programs failed. Its two-tier peer-reviewed and highly competitive process ensures the independence and value of the results produced. While VA’s research program is intramural (it only funds VA researchers), GWIRP is not similarly constrained and seeks to find and fund the best research by any combination of government, academic, or private-sector research teams.
We respectfully request that you provide the necessary resources to continue this vital and effective program in the FY20 DoD Appropriations Bill. Furthermore, it is critical to the program's success and accountability that it remains a stand-alone program within the CDMRP and not be combined as a topic area within broader, less-targeted research programs.
Thank you for your consideration of our request, which is supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Veterans for Common Sense, Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), AMVETS, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Blinded Veterans Association, The Enlisted Association (TREA), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Fleet Reserve Association, Association of the United States Navy (AUSN), Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA), National Gulf War Resource Center, Burn Pits 360, Sgt. Sullivan Circle, and the National Vietnam and Gulf War Coalition.
Sincerely,
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HOUSE FY20 EDC and DEAR COLLEAGUE:
Support FY20 funding for DoD-CDMRP
Gulf War Illness Treatment Research
Deadline to sign on is Thursday, March 29 2019
Dear Colleague:
We invite you to join us in sending a letter (text below) to the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee urging continued support in FY 2020 for the treatment-focused Gulf War Illness Research Program within the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).
The Gulf War Illness Research Program is a unique federal program with an unprecedented vision to achieve,“improved health and lives of Veterans who have Gulf War Illness.” The GWIRP continues to succeed in efforts to “fund innovative Gulf War Illness (GWI) research to identify effective treatment and accelerate their clinical application, improve definition and diagnosis, and better understand pathobiology and symptoms.”As specified in more detail in the letter, the GWIRP continues to demonstrate its effectiveness in its mission to improve the health and lives of veterans debilitated and suffering from Gulf War Illness. We need to ensure that these efforts continue for these veterans and for current and future U.S. forces at risk of similar exposures and outcomes.
By congressional design, the Congressionally-directed Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) is a unique medical research program narrowly focused on identifying treatments and diagnostic markers for Gulf War Illness (GWI).1
The most recent report of the Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses (RAC) recommended maintaining funding for this effective treatment-oriented program.
The FY 2019 GWIRP request was supported by 83 offices, including current House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Roe, as well as then-Ranking Member Tim Walz and signed onto the letter.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars and Veterans for Common Sensesupport this funding request.
The deadline to sign on is March 28, 2019. Please contact Frances Diazat in Rep. Sablan’s office or Remy Fortin in Rep. Bergman’s office for more information or to sign this letter.
Sincerely,
GREGORIO SABLAN JACK BERGMAN
Member of Congress Member of Congress
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April 1, 2019
The Honorable Pete Visclosky The Honorable Ken Calvert
Chairman Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Defense Subcommittee on Defense
Committee on Appropriations Committee on Appropriations
H-405, The Capitol, 1016 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Visclosky and Ranking Member Calvert:
As your Subcommittee begins work on the Fiscal Year 2020 Defense Appropriations Bill, we respectfully request adequate funding for the Gulf War Illness Research Program within the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). We
also thank you for providing the program $22 million in Fiscal Year 2019.
By congressional design, the GWIRP is a unique medical research program narrowly focused on the vision of improving the health and lives of Veterans with Gulf War Illness.
Reports by the congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (RAC) and the National Academy of Sciences (NASEM) have shown that: 1) GWI is a
physical condition - likely caused by toxic exposures - that affects up to one-third of the nearly
700,000 veterans who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War; 2) Debilitating GWI symptoms typically include "some combination of widespread pain, headache, persistent problems with
memory and thinking, fatigue, breathing problems, stomach and intestinal symptoms, and skin abnormalities." [1 • 2]
Two-thirds of GWIRP studies are still in progress. However, the positive news is that
there is a growing body of GWIRP-funded study results, many published in peer-reviewed
scientific journals, that demonstrate steady advances of GWIRP's goals of identifying underlying mechanisms, diagnostic markers, and treatments. For example, the GWIRP-funded consortia at
Boston University and Nova Southeastern University identified several potential treatments
through their interdisciplinary preclinical and computational biology research projects. Those
treatments will now be tested in the Gulf War Illness Clinical Trials and Interventions
Consortium, which will include five clinical trials at seven study sites to target OWi's
inflammation, energy production, and immune function issues.[3] Additionally, the GWIRP-funded Boston Biorepository, Recruitment, and Integrative Network will aggregate biological samples
and data to further advance GWI diagnostic marker efforts. These successes are the direct result of clear, treatment-focused congressional direction, stable appropriations for the GWIRP, and effective GWIRP management.
Recognizing the program's progress, the most recent RAC report's recommendations remain instructive: "Congress should maintain its funding to support the effective treatmentoriented [GWIRP]."[4] The discoveries through the program continue to represent encouraging steps toward achieving the 2010 NASEM treatment goals "to speed the development of effective treatments, cures, and, it is hoped, preventions" for current and future U.S. forces at risk of similar exposures and outcomes. Indeed, the GWIRP has served as a model of how to conduct treatmentoriented research to address a challenging illness and is succeeding where earlier programs failed. Its two-tier peer-reviewed and highly competitive process ensures the independence and value of the results produced. Unlike the VA's GWI research program which only funds VA researchers, GWIRP seeks out and funds the best research by any combination of government, academic, or private-sector research teams.
We respectfully request that you provide the necessary resources to continue this vital and effective program in the FY20 Defense Appropriations Bill. Furthermore, it is critical to the program's success and accountability that it remains a stand-alone program within the CDMRP and not be combined as a topic area within broader, less-targeted research programs.
Thank you for your consideration of our request, which is supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Veterans for Common Sense, Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), AMVETS, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Blinded Veterans Association (BV A), The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), National Gulf War Resource Center, Bum Pits 360, Sgt. Sullivan Circle, National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition.
Sincerely,
GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN JACK BERGMAN
Member of Congress Member of Congress
MARK TAKANO PHIL ROE, M.D.
Member of Congress Member of Congress
...with 97 total Members of Congress cosigning.
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--Anthony Hardie, 91outcomes.com Author and Gulf War veteran advocate.