S-2445.1  _______________________________________________

                    SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8014

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

By Senators Patterson, Oke, Swecker, Roach, Heavey, McDonald, Swanson and Brown

Read first time 03/28/97.  Referred to Committee on Government Operations.

Requesting that the cause of Gulf War syndrome be fully and expeditiously investigated.

    TO THE HONORABLE WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE:

    We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

    WHEREAS, In 1990-91, nearly 700,000 United States troops were deployed to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Shield/Storm; and

    WHEREAS, These troops served honorably, accomplishing the goals of subduing Saddam Hussein of Iraq and restoring independence to Kuwait; and

    WHEREAS, Since returning to the United States, at least 70,000 Gulf War veterans have reported a variety of debilitating, chronic illnesses such as memory loss, fatigue, diarrhea, and insomnia, and no cause for this Gulf War syndrome has yet been determined; and

    WHEREAS, Although the Department of Defense initially maintained there was no evidence that United States troops were exposed to chemical or biological weapons which may have caused the illnesses, it has since conceded that the destruction of an ammunition depot at Khamisiyah, Iraq, may have exposed thousands of troops to nerve gas and that there are dozens of other incidents meriting investigation; and

    WHEREAS, The Department of Defense has increased the number of its investigators of this subject from 12 to 110 and is currently financing 27 million dollars in new, independent research; and

    WHEREAS, A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas has concluded that some Gulf War veterans are suffering from three primary syndromes indicating brain and nerve damage caused by wartime exposure to combinations of low-level nerve agents and other chemicals; and

    WHEREAS, Doctors, nurses, and researchers at the Institute for Molecular Medicine say they have contracted symptoms of Gulf War syndrome and believe they have found a genetically altered version of a microorganism that is the cause of the syndrome; and

    WHEREAS, The Veterans Affairs Department and the Department of Defense are providing free medical help to any veteran who believes he or she is suffering from Gulf War syndrome;

    NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the President and the Department of Defense will continue to take all necessary steps to assure that the cause of the illnesses is fully and expeditiously investigated and that appropriate resources are devoted to diagnosing and treating veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome.

    BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable William J. Clinton, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington, and the Secretary of the United States Department of Defense.

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