Session of 1999
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 5021
A Concurrent Resolution memorializing the President and the United States Congress
to take action to provide funds for independent research into illnesses suffered by Gulf
War veterans and to initiate more effective programs to assist Gulf War veterans and
their families, and urging the Governor of Kansas and appropriate heads of Kansas state
agencies to continue efforts in support of the Kansas Persian Gulf War Veterans Health
Initiative.
WHEREAS, Nearly 700,000 United States troops, including 7,500
Kansans, deployed to the Persian Gulf region in Operation Desert Shield
and Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait; and
WHEREAS, Federal research efforts have not yet identified the prev-
alence, patterns, causes or treatments for illnesses suffered by Gulf War
veterans; and
WHEREAS, Nationwide, very few Gulf War veterans who have ap-
plied for disability compensation for undiagnosed illnesses from the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs have received compensa-
tion; and
WHEREAS, The Kansas Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Initiative
has surveyed 2031 Kansas Gulf War-era veterans; and
WHEREAS, The Kansas Gulf War Veterans Health Study preliminary
results indicate that 30% of deployed veterans suffer from a complex of
symptoms characterized by fatigue, joint and muscle pain, cognitive and
mood disturbances, and a variable array of respiratory, gastrointestinal,
neurological, skin, and auditory problems, collectively identified as Gulf
War illness; and
WHEREAS, The Kansas Gulf War Veterans Health Study indicates
that Gulf War illness occurs in identifiable patterns, including differences
by areas of deployment; and
WHEREAS, The Kansas Gulf War Veterans Health Study indicates
that among veterans who did not deploy to the Gulf War, Gulf War illness
occurs at a significantly higher rate among veterans who received vaccines
during that period than those who did not receive vaccines; and
WHEREAS, The Kansas Gulf War Veterans Health Study indicates
that children of Gulf War veterans born since the war were significantly
more likely to have been born with health problems, including birth de-
fects, than children born to nondeployed veterans during the same period;
and
WHEREAS, The Kansas Gulf War Veterans Health Study indicates
that most deployed veterans with Gulf War illness continue to be em-
ployed, but 79% say their health affects their ability to work; and
WHEREAS, The Kansas Gulf War Veterans Health Study indicates
that Kansas veterans who deployed to the Gulf War are significantly less
likely to receive disability compensation from the United States Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs than nondeployed veterans of the same era; and
WHEREAS, Kansas has thousands of deployable troops at facilities
such as Fort Riley, Fort Leavenworth, McConnell Air Base, as well as
reservists and members of our Kansas National Guard; and
WHEREAS, The results of the Kansas Persian Gulf War Veterans
Health Initiative are very troubling, we must do all we can to prevent a
repeat of ``Gulf War illness'' in any future conflict that affects our Kansas
military men and women: Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Kansas,
the Senate concurring therein: That we, the Kansas Legislature, believe
that Gulf War illness has had a severe negative impact on the physical
and emotional well-being of Gulf War veterans who honorably served
Kansas and the United States; and
Be it further resolved: That we memorialize the President and the
Congress of the United States to provide funding for Gulf War illness
research independent of that administered by the United States Depart-
ments of Defense and Veterans Affairs; and to establish a process of
independent review of federal policies and programs associated with Gulf
War illness research, benefits, and health care; and
Be it further resolved: That we urge the Governor of Kansas, the
Secretary of Health and Environment, the Kansas Commission on Vet-
erans Affairs, and other appropriate state agency heads to take action to
continue to investigate Gulf War illness and promote programs to inform
and assist Kansas Gulf War veterans and family members suffering from
Gulf War illness; and
Be it further resolved: That we urge our Kansas Congressional Del-
egation to coordinate acquisition of federal grants from the National In-
stitute of Health (N.I.H.) or other federal sources to seek causes and
cures for Gulf War illness; and
Be it further resolved: That we urge our Kansas Congressional Del-
egation to build coalitions with other states to call on Congress and the
administration for action in investigating and finding answers to Gulf War
illness; and
Be it further resolved: That we encourage our Kansas Congressional
Delegation to meet with members of the Kansas Persian Gulf War Vet-
erans Initiative to coordinate efforts on the federal level; and
Be it further resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to pro-
vide an enrolled copy of this resolution to the President of the United
States, the Vice-President of the United States, the Speaker of the United
States House of Representatives, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, and to each member of the Kansas Congressional
delegation; to the Governor of the State of Kansas, the Secretary of
Health and Environment, the Secretary of Human Resources, and the
Chairman of the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs; and to the Na-
tional and State Commanders of the American Legion, the Veterans of
Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans.
I hereby certify that the above CONCURRENT RESOLUTION originated
in the HOUSE, and was adopted by that body
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HOUSE concurred in
SENATE amendments ______________________________
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Adopted by the
SENATE as amended ______________________________
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