Edolphus Towns: “I deeply regret that H.R. 4110 did not contain a presumption of exposure for Persian Gulf War veterans. The Subcommittee…”

“I deeply regret that H.R. 4110 did not contain a presumption of exposure for Persian Gulf War veterans. The Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight chaired by the gentleman from Connecticut, Mr. Shays, held over a dozen hearings for the last 32 months. As the Ranking Minority on this Subcommittee, I am proud to say that these hearings were conducted on a totally bipartisan fashion which later resulted in two important bills, introduced by Mr. Shays and myself with over 200 co-sponsors. These bills tracked two major recommendations of our oversight report, H.R. 4036 and H.R. 4035. Our oversight report recommended two important changes in the manner in which the VA processes future claims--a presumption of exposure and a prohibition against a waiver of informed consent requirements by the FDA for the use of experimental or investigational drugs, unless the President approves. Tragically, neither provision was included in a rush to push this bill forward. I believe that there are important provisions in H.R. 4110 but no one should be under the allusion that this bill will really meet the needs of Persian Gulf War veterans or any veterans who may face similar battle conditions in the future.”