Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 4.djvu/172

 108 STAT. 2806 PUBLIC LAW 103-337 —OCT. 5, 1994 light of the member's service in the Persian Gulf War and in light of the reported symptoms of other Persian Gulf veterans. The Secretary shall ensure that, in providing health care diagnosis and treatment of the member, a broad range of potential causes of the member's symptoms are considered and that the member's s)miptoms are considered collectively, as well as by type of sjonptom or medical specialty, and that treatment across medical specialties is coordinated appropriately. (4) The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the presumptions of service connection and illness specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) are incorporated in appropriate service medical and personnel regulations and are widely disseminated throughout the Department of Defense. (e) REVISION OF THE PHYSICAL EVALUATION BOARD CRITERIA.— (1) The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall ensure that case definitions of Persian Gulf related illnesses, as well as the Physical Evaluation Board criteria used to set disability ratings for members no longer medically qualified for continuation on active duty, are established as soon as possible to permit accurate disability ratings related to a diagnosis of Persian Gulf illnesses. (2) Until revised disability criteria can be implemented and members of the Armed Forces can be rated against those criteria, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure— (A) that any member of the Armed Forces on active duty who may be suffering from a Persian Gulf-related illness is afforded continued military medical care; and (B) that any member of the Armed Forces on active duty who is found by a Physical Evaluation Board to be imfit for continuation on active duty as a result of a Persian Gulf- related illness for which the board has no rating criteria (or inadequate rating criteria) for the illness or condition from which the member suffers is placed on the temporary disability retired list. (f) REVIEW OF RECORDS AND RERATING OF PREVIOUSLY DIS- CHARGED GULF WAR VETERANS. —(1) The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall ensure that a review is made of the health and personnel records of each Persian Gulf veteran who before the date of the enactment of this Act was discharged from active duty, or was medically retired, as a result of a Physical Evaluation Board process. (2) The review under paragraph (1) shall be carried out to ensure that former Persian Gulf veterans who may have been suffering from a Persian Gulf-related illness at the time of discharge or retirement from active duty as a result of the Physical Evaluation Board process are revaluated in accordance with the criteria established under subsection (e)(1) and, if appropriate, are rerated. (g) PERSIAN GULF ILLNESS MEDICAL REFERRAL CENTERS.— The Secretary of Defense shall evaluate the feasibility of establishing one or more medical referral centers to provide uniform, coordinated medical care for Persian Gulf veterans on active duty who are Reports. or may be suffering from a Persian Gulf-related illness. The Secretary shall submit a report on such feasibility to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives not later than six months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

�