(91outcomes.com) Through the leadership efforts of Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), today's House floor votes increased the CDMRP Gulf War Illness treatment-focused research budget by 25 percent, as we were seeking. We hope that the final vote will preserve the acclaimed Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program ("CDMRP"), which primarily Tea Party members of the House want to eliminate, claiming it's duplicative of NIH funding. While it is true that some of the CMDRP subjects are the same as those researched by NIH, such as some of the cancer programs, the funded research is primarily high-risk, high-gain and would not otherwise be funded. This is particularly true for programs like GWI, which VA also researches. However, VA only funds VA employees, meaning the treatment-focused CDMRP studies would never be funded by VA. Additionally, most if not all of VA's GWI research is "investigator-initiated" and to date has lacked strategic focus. The proof is in the outcomes, with the first and only successful GWI treatment so far having been funded through the CDMRP and not VA. CDMRP has had just $31 million in appropriations for GWI; VA and DoD combined have spent over $400 million without finding a single treatment to help GWI patients. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) -- VA's gold standard -- 250,000 of the 696,842 veterans of the 1991 Gulf War, or more than one in three, suffer from chronic multi-symptom illness not explained by any physical or psychiatric disorder. [Personal note: The battle for CDMRP funding continues next in the Senate, where I'll be next week hoping to help in the broader efforts to fully restore or increase all CDMRP funding and increase GWI funding to at least $25 million, the level recommended by the IOM.] --Anthony Hardie, Madison, Wis. ========  Kucinich Continues Long-Term Fight for Gulf War Illnesses Research Funding |
Kucinich Amendment Increases CDMRP Gulf War Illness Treatment Research Budget by 25% Congressman Kucinich took to the floor today to urge support for the amendment. See the video here. The amendment passed today by a vote of 253 to 167 and will be included in the underlying bill. “Today, along with the support my colleague, Representative Michaud, I am offering this amendment to help an estimated 250,000 ailing veterans of the first Gulf War-- over one-third of those who served. It will bring the modest budget for the Gulf War Illnesses Research Program within the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) in line with that of its peer programs, to $10 million. “Too many veterans of the first Gulf War suffer from persistent symptoms such as chronic headache, widespread pain, cognitive difficulties, unexplained fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, respiratory symptoms, and other abnormalities that are not explained by traditional medical or psychiatric diagnoses. Research shows that as these brave soldiers age, they are at double the risk for ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease as their non-deployed peers. There may also be connections to Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Sadly, there are no known treatments for the lifelong pain these veterans endure. “In a new landmark report, the Institute of Medicine has recognized that, and called for a major national research effort to identify treatments. The scientific community has responded with a dramatic increase in the quality and quantity of proposals that are submitted to the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, otherwise known as CDMRP. “In the FY 12 Defense Appropriations bill, CDMRP programs with direct relevance to current forces received a 25% increase. The research conducted by the Gulf War Veterans Illnesses Research Program is vital not only for ill Gulf War veterans, but also for other military forces. “As summarized by the IOM committee chair on the topic, Dr. Stephen Hauser, Gulf War illnesses research is ‘vital to the health and effectiveness of current and future military forces, in addition to Gulf War veterans.’ “Most encouraging, CDMRP-funded researchers have completed the first successful pilot study of a medication to treat one of the major symptoms of Gulf War illness. Just last month, a report was released on the first successful medication program study in the history of Gulf War illness research. The study showed that the low-cost supplement, Coenzyme Q10, produced significant improvement in one of the most serious symptoms of Gulf War illness, fatigue with exertion, as well as improvements in nearly every other symptom. It is not a cure, and the study needs be replicated in a larger group, but the result is extremely encouraging. The next step is for clinical trials, which will only be funded by the CDMRP. “The amendment’s offset comes from the Pentagon Channel, which is costly. It is over $29 million in the past 3 fiscal years. It is redundant; there are 8 other armed forces network television services providing news, entertainment, lifestyle, documentary and religious programming to service members and their families across the globe and it does not provide a vital service. This research is critical to our troops in the field now as well as those that will be fighting in the future. “According to the VA’s Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses, the known causes of GWI are from exposures incurred in Iraq, like certain pesticides, or are from exposures incurred before deployment, like pyridostigmine bromide, a drug taken as an antidote to the nerve gas, Sarin. There is also some evidence for a link between GWI and exposure to low-level exposure to nerve agents, close proximity to oil well fires, receipt of multiple vaccines, and combinations of Gulf War exposures. “Current forces in Iraq and Afghanistan can still incur each of these exposures. That is why the Chair of the IOM Committee report on Gulf War Illnesses said that ‘This IOM report makes findings and recommendations vital to the health and effectiveness of current and future U.S. military forces, in addition to Gulf War veterans.’ “This is a time for us to say thank you to those who served; to say that we understand the suffering that Gulf War veterans have had with this illness and that we are dedicated to finding higher levels of research to make sure that we can relieve their suffering. |
Showing posts with label Legislation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legislation. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Kucinich Amendment Increases Gulf War Illness Budget by 25 Percent
Military Times Article Claiming TRICARE Increase Funds CDMRP is Factually Inaccurate
The email below is in response to a factually inaccurate Military Times article that stated the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) were being funded through raised TRICARE rates.
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee clarified that assertion is false.
The email is from Mark Vieth, who represents two rare disease organizations and has taken a leading role in lashing together a broad coalition of CDMRP support groups.
--Anthony Hardie, Madison, Wis.
------
Dear Friends,
Many of you may have seen an article published in Army Times or Navy Times that suggested that the CDMRPs are funded through reductions in the TRICARE budget.
I asked Brooke Boyer on the House Appropriations Committee if there was any validity to this, and I wanted to share her response below:
“This article is not factually correct.
"Every mark in our bill is done on an individual basis; one mark that decreases funds does not have anything to do with a mark that increases funds elsewhere. Furthermore, the $330 million that was reduced is FY12 money in the budget request, not FY11 money.
"TRICARE funding is operation and maintenance funding, which is only available for one year. The Committee believes that the budget request overestimates the amount of TRICARE funding necessary in FY12, hence the reduction.”
Mark D. Vieth, Senior Vice PresidentCavarocchi Ruscio Dennis AssociatesWashington, DC
-------
The flawed information in the Military Times article appears to have been based on the following Senate hearing testimony:
Rick Jones, National Association for Uniformed Services - “And after hearing, for more than a year, that Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs say that rising costs retiree health care was crippling our nation's national security, we read that the House Appropriations Committee intends to use $330 million of unexecuted money in the TRICARE health program for funding additional congressionally-directed medical research programs, many of which are outside traditional battlefield medicine, and/or duplicate subjects covered by the National Institute of Health. It's not appropriate. Our folks might be outraged when they hear this, that their health care (inaudible) pay more for the monies going for additional research in areas unrelated to military”
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Bill Awaiting Presidential Signature includes CIA Gulf War Declassification Measure
Written by Anthony Hardie
(91outcomes.com) – The annual Intelligence Authorization bill, passed by both the Senate and the House this week and now awaiting signature by the President, includes an important measure for Gulf War Veterans.
Tucked into this year’s annual Intelligence Authorization bill at the request of U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ-12) is a long anticipated measure requiring the CIA to declassify records from the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
According to a press release from the office of Rep. Holt, “Holt secured language in the bill directing the Director of the CIA to conduct a classification review of CIA records that may be relevant to helping veterans, scientists, and medical providers better understand the scope of potential toxic exposures among Operation Desert Storm veterans.”
"Ill Gulf War veterans have been waiting for nearly two decades for our government to make public any information in its possession about the kinds of toxic agents they may have been exposed to during and immediately after the 1991 war," Holt said in the statement. "This mandated declassification review is a long overdue step towards meeting that goal."
It is no coincidence that a key staff member who was instrumental in this legislation was Patrick Eddington, a former CIA analyst whose book, “Gassed in the Gulf,” rocked Washington when it exposed evidence showing Gulf War troops were indeed exposed to Iraqi chemical warfare agents during the war, contrary to assertions by Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs officials.
Holt’s measure may help bring more evidence to bear in unlocking the key to treating Gulf War veterans’ illnesses since knowing the exact causes of the brain damage may aid in developing effective treatments for the resultant neurological and immunological disease in Gulf War veterans.
According to a July 2010 Institute of Medicine report, approximately 250,000 of the 696,842 U.S. troops who served in the 1991 Gulf War remain debilitated by chronic multi-symptom illness, a condition that IOM made clear in its report cannot be linked to any psychiatric condition, a flawed but longstanding assertion of Defense officials in the 1990’s.
It is expected that President Obama will sign the bill into law in the upcoming days.
---------------
President Expected to Sign New Gulf War Legislation, but What Does it Really Mean for Ill Gulf War Veterans?
UPDATED 2:02 P.M. CT, 09/30/2010
Written by Anthony Hardie
(91outcomes.com) – The annual veterans benefits bill passed by Congress this week and sent to the President for his expected signature contained measures of particular interest to Gulf War veterans.
In the Senate summary of the bill, it sounds promising on its face:
Section 805: National Academies review of best treatments for chronic multisymptom illness in Persian Gulf War veterans.
- Would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into an agreement with the National Academies Institute of Medicine to carry out a comprehensive review of best treatment practices for chronic multisymptom illness in Persian Gulf War veterans and develop a plan for dissemination of best practices throughout VA.
- Under such an agreement, would require the Institute of Medicine to convene a group of experts in chronic multisymptom illness in Gulf war veterans.
- Would require the Institute of Medicine to submit a report, including legislative and administrative recommendations, to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives no later than December 31, 2012.
- VA would be required to fund the Institute of Medicine review.
Section 806: Extension and modification of National Academy of Sciences reviews and evaluations on illness and service in Persian Gulf War and Post 9/11 Global Operations Theaters.
- Would extend the review and evaluation of chronic multisymptom illness in Persian Gulf War veterans by the National Academy of Sciences to October 1, 2015.
- Would direct the National Academy of Sciences to disaggregate the data for theaters of operation before and after September 11, 2001, and to compile two separate reports, one pre- and one-post September 11.
- Would extend the sunset for this report provision to October 1, 2018.
It’s great that Congress has gotten the message that the primary focus for the IOM-estimated 250,000 veterans of the 1991 Gulf War still suffering from chronic multi-symptom illness related to hazardous agent exposures two decades ago is about finding effective treatments.
However, it is unclear how that the IOM will carry out its mission. Typically, the IOM has reviewed existing research already concluded, published, and peer-reviewed. Since there focus on treatments for GWI is relatively new, IOM won’t be finding much if that’s the method they will pursue.
What needs to be developed is a comprehensive research program to develop effective treatments. And, like Gulf War veterans have been saying for years, those treatments need to be based on the outcomes of known Gulf War toxic exposures.
Congress should be applauded for including a measure that is clearly focused on treatments rather than “stress” or trying to determine if Gulf War veterans are really sick – we are. Our disability payments probably cost the taxpayers far more than if the federal government had honed in on treatments in the first place rather than denial.
However, it remains to be seen if this new legislation will actually produce something meaningful to improve the health and lives of ill Gulf War veterans, or simply summarize what we already know: effective treatments for the underlying GWI issues do not yet exist, so the distant second best effort remains to put pharmaceutical band-aids on the dozens of individual symptoms of a terrible and insidious ailment.
A detailed summary of the Veterans’ Benefits Act of 2010 is available here: LINK
The full text of the bill sent to the President, is available here: LINK
-----------------------------------
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)