Support FY18 funding for DoD-CDMRP

Gulf War Illness Treatment Research

Deadline to sign on is Friday, March 31, 2017

Dear Colleague:
We invite you to join us in sending a letter (text below) to the House Defense Appropriations
Subcommittee urging continued support in FY 2018 for the treatment-focused Gulf War Illness Research
Program (GWIRP) within the Department of Defense (DoD) Congressional Directed Medical Research
Programs (CDMRP).
The GWIRP is a unique federal program that is succeeding where previous efforts have failed. As
specified in detail in the letter, the GWIRP continues to demonstrate its effectiveness in its mission to
improve the health and lives of veterans debilitated and suffering from Gulf War Illness. We need to
ensure that these efforts continue for these veterans and for current and future U.S. forces at risk of
similar exposures and outcomes.
Maintaining funding for this effective treatment-oriented program was recommended by the most recent
(2014) report of the Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans
Illnesses (RAC). The Independent Budget Veterans Service Organizations also recommend that Congress
provide sufficient funding to resume robust research to identify effective treatments.

Last year, 74 offices signed onto the letter.

Current HVAC Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz were the bipartisan co-leads on the
requests during the 114th Congress and remain in strong support this year.
A total of 13 HVAC members signed onto the letter last year, including HVAC Chairman (114th)
Miller and Ranking Member Brown, Vice-Chairman Bilirakis, Subcommittee on Health
Chairman Benishek and Ranking Member Brownley, Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations Chairman Coffman and Ranking Member Kuster, and Subcommittee on Economic
Opportunity Ranking Member Takano, and Members ORourke, Ruiz, and Rice.
This request is supported by The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American
Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS, Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans for
Common Sense, National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition, Sergeant Sullivan Circle, and the
National Gulf War Resource Center.
The deadline to sign on is Friday, March 31, 2017. Please contact Chris Matarangas
(chris.matarangas@mail.house.gov) in Rep. Bergmans office or Frances Diaz
(frances.diaz@mail.house.gov) in Rep. Sablans office for more information or to sign this letter.

Sincerely,

JACK BERGMAN GREGORIO SABLAN

Member of Congress Member of Congress
March XX, 2017
The Honorable Kay Granger The Honorable Pete Visclosky
Chairwoman Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Defense Subcommittee on Defense
Committee on Appropriations Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairwoman Granger and Ranking Member Visclosky:

Thank you for your interest in and continued support of the Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP)
within the Department of Defense (DoD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
(CDMRP). As your Subcommittee begins work on FY2018 DoD appropriations, we respectfully request
adequate funding for the GWIRP.

Since its inception, the GWIRP has demonstrated significant progress in developing treatments for Gulf
War Illness. The most recent (2014) report of the Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory
Committee on Gulf War Veterans Illnesses (RAC), which built on landmark RAC 2008 and Institute of
Medicine (IOM) 2010 reports, concluded:

Scientific research [since 2008]. supports and further substantiates . that Gulf War illness is
a serious physical disease, affecting at least 175,000 veterans of the 1990-1991 Gulf War, that
resulted from hazardous exposures in the Gulf War theater.
Symptoms typically include some combination of widespread pain, headache, persistent
problems with memory and thinking, fatigue, breathing problems, stomach and intestinal
symptoms, and skin abnormalities.
Research has found an elevated incidence of ALS [Lou Gehrigs Disease], and Gulf War
veterans who were most exposed to the release of nerve gas by the destruction of the Khamisiyah
Iraqi arms depot have significantly elevated rates of death due to brain cancer. There are
concerns for the health of this vulnerable population as time progresses.

Important progress has been made However, much work remains to be done.
These landmark reports emphasize that effective treatments, cures, and, it is hoped, preventions for
GWI can likely be found, through a concerted national effort and rigorous scientific input. In
addition, important discoveries made by the GWIRP may also help protect current and future U.S.
military service members at risk of similar toxic exposures.
The GWIRP has shown itself to be a model on how to conduct treatment-oriented research to address a
challenging illness. By Congressional design, the GWIRP is narrowly focused on improving the health
and lives of veterans who have Gulf War Illness, by funding innovative Gulf War Illness research to
identify effective treatments, improve definition and diagnosis, and better understand pathobiology and
symptoms. The GWIRP is making significant progress where earlier research failed to seek evidence-
based treatments. Additionally:
GWIRPs highly competitive, multi-stage peer-reviewed process is open to all researchers,
whereas VA research is restricted to VA staff, few of whom have expertise in this rapidly-
evolving, cutting-edge area. The GWIRP continues to fund interdisciplinary and inter-
 institutional research collaborations to better solve complex issues than by single researchers
working alone.
GWIRP-funded research aimed at unlocking GWIs underlying mechanisms is showing great
promise, and has found that even low-dose chemical warfare agent and/or other Gulf War
exposures lead to persistent brain changes associated with GWI; correlation between animal
models of exposure and markers of Gulf War Illness in veterans; evidence of mitochondrial
dysfunction in GWI and testing potentially relevant treatments; further evidence supporting that
GWI includes chronic inflammation, made worse by exercise challenge, and testing potential
treatments; a potential explanation of GWI immunological dysfunction; lipid dysfunction
following GWI exposures and testing a potentially relevant treatment; and other findings
important to aiding veterans with GWI.
As a testament to the success of previously funded GWIRP treatment development research, the
GWIRP has for the first time recently funded projects to test the efficacy and safety of treatments
predicted by that earlier research.
GWIRPs efforts to date are steadily advancing, with most (75%) GWIRP funding to date -- in 25
states and DC -- committed to projects that remain in progress.
The interest in the scientific community created by the landmark RAC and IOM reports, consistent
Congressional support, effective GWIRP management, and scientific discoveries in related fields are
making possible significant advances towards GWIRPs goals.
The RAC, more than 50 Independent Budget Veterans Service Organizations (IBVSOs), scientist
GWIRP panelists, and consumer reviewers serving with the GWIRP have expressed strong support for
the GWIRP to improve the health and lives of veterans suffering from GWI. The FY15 IBVSOs said the
GWI CDMRP, has made great strides in the short time it has been operating, and the IBVSOs for the
115th Congress (DAV, PVA, VFW, and 27 others) ask Congress to provide sufficient funding to
resume robust research to identify effective treatments...
This request is supported by The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American
Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS, Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans for
Common Sense, National Vietnam and Gulf War Veterans Coalition, Sergeant Sullivan Circle, and the
National Gulf War Resource Center.
We respectfully request that you provide the necessary resources to continue this vital and effective
program.

Sincerely,

_____________________________ _____________________________
JACK BERGMAN GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN
Member of Congress Member of Congress

__________________________________ _____________________________
PHIL ROE, M.D. TIM WALZ
Member of Congress Member of Congress