Cliff Stearns: “Mr. Speaker, I am going to take a few moments just to outline some of the broad understanding of this Gulf War syndrome…”

“Mr. Speaker, I am going to take a few moments just to outline some of the broad understanding of this Gulf War syndrome for the record. Mr. Speaker, in January and early February of 1991, the United States stood on the brink of what many people anticipated would be a protracted military campaign against the forces of an aggressor nation. Many lawmakers, some in this Chamber, opposed military action, of course, fearing heavy losses. Thankfully our armed forces proved vastly superior to Saddam Hussein's army, and in a matter of days the conflict was over. Appropriately, much of the credit for our swift, decisive action went to the approximately 700,000 American men and women who served in the Gulf War during that operation. As a Nation, of course, we salute their heroism. In one month after the war's close, however, it became apparent that many Persian Gulf veterans who had escaped the hazards of enemy rockets, tanks, mines and gunfire were not left untouched. Increasingly veterans who returned home uninjured began to experience illnesses with multiple symptoms which their doctors really could not explain.”