FOR RELEASE: February 22, 2002

Evans Says Recent VA Report Shows Dramatic Differences
in Death Rates for Certain Gulf War Veterans
Urges DoD and VA Investigation of Troubling Gulf War Data

WASHINGTON, DC – Saying recently reported dramatic differences in Gulf War veteran death rates must be immediately examined, Lane Evans (D-IL), the senior Democratic member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, today urged the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense to launch an immediate investigation of the death rate differences.  Data contained in reports issued by the Data Management Office of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans’ Benefits Administration show dramatic differences in the death rates for certain Gulf War veterans.

According to Evans, the reported death rate for servicemembers who were not deployed to Southwest Asia is 1,141 per 100,000.  The death rate for deployed veterans is somewhat lower at 885 per 100,000.  However, the death rate for servicemembers reportedly exposed to the Khamisiyah plume was much lower at 341 per 100,000 and the rate for a group of veterans previously characterized as having been exposed to the plume, but now re-characterized as not exposed was dramatically higher at 2,937 per 100,000.  Evans said, “this latest data is extremely puzzling and warrants further investigation.” 

Evans has long urged the VA to conduct research analyzing data concerning the location of veterans during the Gulf War and claims for VA compensation and pension benefits.  In 1998, an Evans report found that veterans then characterized as having been exposed to the Khamisiyah plume were 20 times more likely to be service-connected by the VA for an undiagnosed illness than those who served in Southwest Asia after the conflict period ended on July 31, 1991.  A 1999 Evans analysis indicated that the then Khamisiyah cohort was twice as likely to be granted a VA non-service-connected pension for permanent and total disability as veterans who served during the conflict, but were not near Khamisiyah.  The earlier Evans reports indicated significant differences in service-connected disabilities among servicemembers who served in Southwest Asia near Khamisiyah, Al Jubal, in other locations during the conflict and in Southwest Asia after July 31, 1991.  The recent VA data is inconsistent with earlier findings.

While the troubling differences in death rates must be fully examined, Evans urged caution in speculating about causes of the data contained in VA’s recent reports until a fuller analysis can be undertaken.  “I expect Secretary Principi and Secretary Rumsfeld to take prompt action to clarify the current reports and to provide further follow-up research concerning veterans who served in the Gulf during and after the conflict.”    

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