WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
You can email, call, or electronically message your two U.S. Senators who represent you and your state in the U.S. Senate and your Congressman or Congresswoman who represents you in the U.S. House of Representatives.
See above for "10 quick and easy steps" to make your request.
Many Members of Congress have an option to submit your comments from a quick form right on their webpage.
WHO IS LEADING THIS FUNDING EFFORT IN CONGRESS?
HOUSE: In the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Jack Bergman, LTG, USMC (Ret.) (R-Michigan) and Rep. Gregorio Sablan (D-U.S. Territory of Northern Mariana Islands) are co-leading this effort. Both serve on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tennessee) and Ranking Member Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minnesota) are backing this.
SENATE: In the United States Senate, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) is leading the bipartisan effort for the Senate.
This is a fully bipartisan effort.
AT WHAT LEVEL SHOULD THE FUNDING BE SUPPORTED, AND WHY?
The effort is to support the treatment-focused Gulf War Illness CDMRP. Their effort is calling for House Members to support this important program by signing onto a "Dear Colleague" letter requesting adequate continuation funding for this successful, unique, and important program.
WHY IS THIS PROGRAM NEEDED?
Reports by the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (IOM)2 (pp. 10, 260-64) and the Congressionally-mandated VA Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses3 emphasize that “effective treatments, cures, and, it is hoped, preventions” for GWI can “likely be found,” “…through a concerted national effort and rigorous scientific input.” In addition, important discoveries made by the GWIRP may also help protect current and future U.S. military service members at risk of similar toxic exposures. (RAC 2014, pp. 1, 4, 5, 13, 78, 83; IOM 2010, pp. 10, 260-64.)
WHO SUPPORTS THIS PROGRAM?
The RAC, more than 50 FY15 Independent Budget Veterans’ Service Organizations (IBVSO’s), scientist GWIRP panelists,1,5 and numerous consumer reviewers serving with the GWIRP have expressed strong support for the GWIRP to improve the health and lives of veterans suffering from GWI.
The FY15 IBVSO’s said the GWI CDMRP, “has made great strides in the
short time it has been operating,” and the IBVSO’s (DAV, PVA, VFW, and 27 others) for the 115th Congress (2017-18) are asking Congress to “…provide sufficient funding to resume robust research to identify effective treatments...”
The program is supported by the nation's leading Veterans Service Organizations.
FY2019 VSO supporters include: Veterans of Foreign Wars, Veterans for Common Sense, National Gulf War Resource Center, National Vietnam and Gulf War Coalition, Burn Pits 360, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS, Vietnam Veterans of America, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Fleet Reserve Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States, and the Air Force Association.
FY18 VSO supporters included: The American Legion; AMVETS; Burn Pits 360; Disabled American Veterans (DAV); Lung Cancer Alliance; National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC); National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition; Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA); Sergeant Sullivan Circle; Veterans for Common Sense (VCS); Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW); and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).
FY17 VSO supporters included: the American Legion; AMVETS; Association of the U.S. Navy (AUSN); Burnpits360; Disabled American Veterans (DAV); Lung Cancer Alliance; National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC); National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition; Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA); Sergeant Sullivan Circle; Toxic Wounds Task Force; Veterans for Common Sense (VCS); Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW); Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).
The FY15 Independent Budget Veterans Service Organizations (IBVSO’s, composed of AMVETS, DAV, PVA, VFW, and 53 other organizations that serve veterans) stated that the GWI CDMRP, “has made great strides in the short time it has been operating.” (pp. 126-27)
WHEN SHOULD I CALL MY SENATORS'/CONGRESSPERSON'S OFFICE?
Right away. The deadline is fast approaching. Typically, their offices need one or more days to secure approval to sign-on.
WHEN IS THE DEADLINE?
HOUSE: The sign-on deadline for Congresspersons in the U.S. House of Representatives to sign-on was Thursday, March 15, 2018.
SENATE: The sign-on deadline for Senators in the U.S. Senate is Wednesday, April 11, 2018.
*******
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS
WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GULF WAR ILLNESS RESEARCH PROGRAM?
The Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP), part of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP), a Congressionally directed activity funded under the U.S. Department of Defense, has a comprehensive website on the GWI program at: http://cdmrp.army.mil/gwirp . The GWIRP also publishes an overview of the program in its GWIRP program booklet.
The GWIRP also publishes an overview of what is known scientifically about Gulf War Illness: The Gulf War Illness Landscape .
Veterans for Common Sense (VCS), a leading national veterans' education and advocacy organization, has published the following two documents about the Gulf War Illness Research Program:
WHEN IS THE NEXT FUNDING AVAILABILITY FOR GULF WAR ILLNESS TREATMENT RESEARCH FUNDS?
The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Defense (U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command) provides information for prospective researchers, including how to apply.
