Benefits
Serving Gulf War Veterans
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Former Chairman Montgomery in the Gulf. |
Links You Can Use Applying for VA Disability Compensation VA Health Benefits and Services VA's Gulf War and Agent Orange 'hotline' number is (800)749-8387 |
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Persian Gulf War Veterans Since 1991, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee has conducted over 22 hearings to evaluate and address medical symptoms exhibited by some veterans who served in the Persian Gulf, including Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF), as well as to address the issues affecting Persian Gulf and OIF/OEF veterans’ claims. Public Law 107-103 expanded the Secretary’s authority to provide compensation on a presumptive basis to Persian Gulf War veterans suffering chronic disability resulting from undiagnosed illnesses. Under the new law, compensation may be paid to any eligible Gulf War veteran chronically disabled by an undiagnosed illness, a medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness defined by a cluster of signs or symptoms, or any diagnosed illness that the Secretary determines in regulations warrants a presumption of service-connection. The most common diagnoses under these definitions include chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome. Public Law 107-103 also protects a Persian Gulf War veteran’s grant of service connection when the veteran participates in medical research projects sponsored by the VA. Prior to this change in law, the Secretary did not have the specific authority to protect a grant of service connection for an undiagnosed illness if, as a result of participating in a medical research study, the condition is diagnosed. |
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