Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 6.djvu/79

 PUBLIC LAW 103-446—NOV. 2, 1994 108 STAT. 4647 Sec. 1102. Requirenient for minimum number of full-tiixie equivalent positions. Sec. 1103. Enhanced authority to contract for necessary services. Sec. 1104. Study. TITLE XII—TECHNICAL AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS Sec. 1201. Amendments to title 38. United States Code. Sec. 1202. Amendments to other laws administered by Secretary of Veterans Af- fairs. Sec. 1203. Amendments to other laws. SEC. 2. KEFEKENCES TO ITTLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE. Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of title 38, United States Code. TITLE I—PERSIAN GULF WAR ^T?^e£rls VETERANS ^"^^^^ ^^'• SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 38 USC lOl note. This Act may be cited as the "Persian Gulf War Veterans' Benefits Actf. SEC. 102. FINDINGS. 38 USC 1117 The Congress makes the following findings: (1) During the Persian Gulf War, members of the Armed Forces were exposed to niunerous potentially toxic substances, including fiimes and smoke from military operations, oil well fires, diesel exhaust, paints, pesticides, depleted uranium, infectious agents, investigational drugs and vaccines, and indigenous diseases, and were also given multiple immunizations. It is not known whether these servicemembers were exposed to chemical or biological warfare agents. However, threats of enemy use of chemical and biological warfare heightened the psychological stress associated with the military operation. (2) Significant numbers of veterans of me Persian Gulf War are suffering fi:t)m Ulnesses, or are exhibiting symptoms of iliness, that cannot now be diagnosed or clearly defined. As a result, many of these conditions or illnesses are not considered to be service connected under current law for purposes of benefits administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. (3) The National Institutes of Health Technology Assessment Workshop on the Persian Gulf Experience and Health, held in April 1994, concluded that the complex biological, chemical, physical, and psychological environment of the Southwest Asia theater of operations produced complex adverse healtii effects in Persian Gulf War veterans and that no single disease entity or syndrome is apparent Rather, it may be that the ilinesses siiffered by those veterans result from multiple illnesses with overlapping symptoms and causes that have yet to be defined. (4) That workshop concluded that the information concerning the range and intensity of exposure to toxic substances by military personnel in the Southwest Asia theater of operations is very Hmited and that such information was collected only after a considerable delay.

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