Commemorating the Persian Gulf War and reaffirming the commitment of the United States towards Persian Gulf War veterans.

I thank the gentleman from Illinois, and I also thank you for your friendship and your personal counsel over the years. Likewise, I am so pleased that your wife continues to do well.

And to my friend, Mike Michaud, Mike--if I may have the latitude to address him by his first name, Mr. Speaker.

I don't mean to be nostalgic here for the moment, but I think when Members look back, they really don't remember all the difficult and challenging moments, they remember the things that really bring joy to their life. And one of the joys that I have in life is getting the opportunity to meet some real genuine people. And that's what Mike Michaud of Maine is.

You are a genuine human being and it is your nature, it is your character,

it is your moral compass, the reason I use the word ``genuine.'' You are truly one of the individuals that I will miss when I look back at Congress. I really will, Mike.

I only wish your conference had made you chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, I really do, because you and I could have done a lot of great things together.

In reality, the unwritten history will be the success of the committee occurred not by your current chairman, but because of the work-around solutions that we were able to do, by you and I working together, with Stephanie Herseth and the Sergeant Major and Vic Snyder. So history may not credit you, Mr. Michaud, for all the things you've done, but I'm going to stand on the floor and let everybody know all the great things that you have done for veterans in this country, and I am very proud of you. So as I stand here and I think of not only myself, but I think about my colleagues, I want to make sure that you deserve the full measure.

When I think about over 20 years ago, frankly, Saddam Hussein was pretty stupid. He decided to take seven of his Iraqi divisions and he invaded Kuwait. He committed incredible atrocities upon the people of Kuwait, and raped and pillaged the city of Kuwait City.

And when the President then immediately sent the 101st and the 82nd Airborne divisions as a blocking force to then protect Saudi Arabia, they had to build up the logistics of Saudi Arabia itself and activate reservists. Not since World War II had there been such a deployment, not only of the air, but of the sea and the activation of the Guard and reserve and bringing Seventh Corps out of Europe.

You see, Saddam Hussein decided to pick a fight, and he also then took on the United States at a time when the United States was its strongest. We had completed the Reagan build-up. Reagan built up our forces. A lot of good judgments were made back in the latter part of the 1970s and 1980s. Les Aspin, then the chairman of the committee, even though he made some policy changes with regard to how soldiers were going to be paid, and those pay issues got resolved later, in the latter part of the 1990s, Les Aspin, and then the Democrat control of the Armed Services Committee, though, worked then with Ronald Reagan and built up our force. And that was about standing down the Soviet Union. So as we then stood down the Soviet Union, we had a military that was extraordinarily powerful. And Saddam Hussein took on America at a time when we were the most powerful.

Now, with regard to our combat experience, the combat experience for the Gulf War was truly also of value, in that our senior level leadership, the senior NCOs, the First Sergeants, the Sergeants Major, the Colonels, the General Officer Corps, the Admirals, they were Vietnam veterans. So as we went into Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the leadership in that war, they said, well, we know what happened during Vietnam, and they always prided themselves that if they ever got themselves in another fight they were going to do things differently. So there was going to be no such thing as rotation. That's what happened in Vietnam.

So when we arrived in theater in the first Gulf War, duration was the theme, not rotation, meaning we will be here so long as it's necessary to throw Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. As it turns out it was 100 days. That was a 100-day ground war. What isn't counted, though, is everything that it took to pull off a 100-day ground war.

Bringing out so many of the guardsmen and reservists was extraordinary. What was amazing about all this is that that type of a call-up of all the guardsmen and reservists to then support the active elements actually was bringing America to the war. When you pull out a teacher, you pull out someone who leads the church choir, you pull out someone who is the butcher and the baker and you then send them to war, you're bringing America to war. And America really at the time was a little shocked.

I mean, some of us, for myself the call-up was in 3 days. I got a notice and I was gone in 3 days. And it was a pretty extraordinary moment, not only in my life but in a lot of people's lives.

When I think back at all of this, I really compliment the extraordinary leadership, not only of then Dick Cheney, but also of Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf. But I also look back with great pride of the men and women in theater. I believe that the active duty, of whom had always sort of looked down and chastised the reserve components, had new respect for the reserve components. And I look back at the Persian Gulf War, it was a defining moment, I think, at the time for our country.

With regard to the veterans, Mr. Michaud, you are absolutely correct. With a number in excess of 170,000, when you think of the number of those of us that actually went--I don't know the exact number, probably around 700,000 of us that went--that is a very large percentage that have some form of an illness.

I was pretty startled by all this. I do recall what it took to sort of expose that some bad things had happened; the fact that we had blown up one of the Army depots that contained some mustard and sarin gas, and that plume was so large that it went over tens of thousands of not only our own troops, including myself, but also about 10,000 of the U.K. And to think that the DOD was not forthcoming with that information to our veterans for a long time is very disturbing.

I do recall, when I got home I did not have the physical strength to even run down to the end of the lane. That is only about 1,000 feet. And here I am, 30 years old, physically fit, come back from war and I don't have the physical capacity. Something had happened to me, and I didn't know what it was. I do recall that my wife wanted me to go down to the VA or to go to the doctor, and I refused to do it. I refused to do it because, I said, Joni, if I go, they're just going to say it's in my head. I made it up. It's not real. Yet something had happened to my body.

When I then came to Congress, I can assure you when I look back at it, and all of us know when you run for Congress it takes about a year and it takes a lot out of you physically, and I was very sick during that 1 year when I first ran for Congress. When I got here, I decided that I had to accept and get out of the denial mode and step forward and provide voice to a lot of my comrades, and that is what I chose to do.

It is very difficult, especially all of us as public figures, to be willing to step forward and put a face, especially your own, on something like that. But I chose to do that. I remember working not only with the gentleman from Illinois but also Joe Kennedy at the time. That is one of the first things I learned about politics, too. When you take someone like Joe Kennedy and you marry him up with Steve Buyer, when we brought something to the floor, nobody voted against it.

So the things we were able to do by opening the VA to make sure that these veterans got their access to health care, then creating the compensation for undiagnosed illnesses, that was pretty radical. But we knew that something wrong had happened, and we wanted to make sure that our compassion was real, so let's make sure we take care of the families. And that is exactly what we sought to do.

I want to congratulate the gentleman for bringing this resolution. We have moved on to the second Gulf War, and now we are beginning to complete Iraq and we are still in Afghanistan. It is almost as though we have forgotten what happened to the veterans in the first Gulf War, and so many of them continue to suffer from these physical ailments. So when you take a moment like this, you are really saying unto the American people, ``Hey, we've still got some concerns. We still have some very real challenges out there.'' And as I leave, I know that my comrades are in good hands.

So I want to thank all of you for supporting the VA and for supporting my comrades. They were there for us and you remember, and for that I am forever grateful. Thank you and Godspeed.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1672) commemorating the Persian Gulf War and reaffirming the commitment of the United States towards Persian Gulf War veterans, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1672, which commemorates the Persian Gulf War of 1991 and reaffirms the commitment of the United States to the well-being of Persian Gulf War veterans.

More than 20 years ago, on August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein ordered his army into Kuwait, starting a crisis that would lead to war. Although some predicted that Iraq's incursion would be limited, within hours Iraqi forces had seized downtown Kuwait City and were headed south toward the Saudi Arabian border, occupying all of Kuwait along the way. What followed was the largest build-up of American forces since the Vietnam War. Within a short period, members of the 82nd Airborne Division, as well as 300 combat aircraft, were headed for Saudi Arabia. By the end of September 1990, there were nearly 200,000 American personnel in Saudi Arabia ready to repel an Iraqi attack.

Realizing the magnitude of Iraq's invasion, the President ordered additional soldiers to the Persian Gulf. During that period, an international coalition was formed, with more than 30 nations joining the effort to repel Iraqi aggression. On November 29, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution authorizing the use of force if Iraq did not withdraw from Kuwait by January 15; and on the morning of January 16, 1991, allied forces began the first phase of Operation Desert Storm. After a 38-day air campaign, Operation Desert Sabre, a massive ground attack, was launched by American and coalition forces into both Iraq and Kuwait. One hundred hours after the ground campaign began, the President declared a cease-fire.

Mr. Speaker, our men and women in uniform did win that war. Their bravery in battle liberated a country and defended our friends from Saddam Hussein's aggression. We recall with special appreciation the 383 men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice and the 467 who were wounded, as well as the thousands of veterans who, to this day, suffer from illnesses related to their Gulf War service.

Mr. Speaker, the resolution before us recognizes the historical importance of the 20th anniversary of the Persian Gulf War. It honors the noble service and sacrifice of the United States Armed Forces that have served in the Persian Gulf during that war and since, and it encourages all Americans to participate in commemorative activities to pay tribute to the veterans of the Persian Gulf War. It also calls upon the President to issue a proclamation recognizing the war's 20th anniversary and reaffirms the commitment of the United States to peace and prosperity in the Persian Gulf region. I strongly support this resolution, and I encourage all of my colleagues to do as well.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maine, Michael Michaud.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I rise in support of the resolution and yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago, on August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime invaded and occupied nearby Kuwait. In response, the United States stood firmly against this act of aggression and led a strong coalition of responsible nations in making clear that Saddam's actions would not be tolerated. As a result of U.S. leadership, the U.N. Security Council adopted almost a dozen separate resolutions that, among other things, demanded that Iraq unconditionally withdraw from Kuwait and increased economic sanctions and other pressure against Saddam's dictatorship.

On November 29, 1990, the U.N. Security Council authorized the use of all necessary means to compel Iraq's withdrawal from Kuwait. Congress voted on January 12, 1991, to authorize America's Armed Forces to enforce the U.N. Security Council's resolutions with respect to Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, when called to action, our men and women in uniform, almost 700,000 of whom served in the theater, fulfilled their mission in an exemplary manner with valor and honor. Joined by our coalition partners, the U.S. military overwhelmed Saddam's forces and drove them out of Kuwait in a decisive campaign that lasted fewer than 30 days. Sadly, during the Gulf War, 383 Americans made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives in service to our Nation, and more than 460 others were wounded.

Among those who died was a young flight surgeon from Rochelle, Illinois, by the name of Dr. Koritz, when his jet aircraft was shot down. Further, over 170,000 returning veterans of the Gulf War have suffered from serious health problems.

In 2001, I authored the Persian Gulf War Illness Compensation Act to make sure that our veterans receive compensation from illnesses as a result of Gulf War syndrome. This legislation garnered the support of more than half the House of Representatives, and it was later signed into law by the President of the United States. It was thanks to the loving dedication of Donna Steele, the widow of Gulf War veteran Dan Steele from Freeport, Illinois, that helped me understand the devastating nature of Gulf War syndrome.

Mr. Speaker, as we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Gulf War, we must honor the service and sacrifice made by servicemembers and veterans. Further, we must reaffirm our determination to ensure peace and stability in the gulf region which is a key U.S. interest. Accordingly, I am proud to support House Resolution 1672 and thank my friend from Maine (Mr. Michaud) for introducing this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is a real honor and privilege to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer). He is the ranking member of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. He and I are classmates. We trained in school together to run as Members of Congress. He is a dear, dear friend. Our offices are on the same hall. Unfortunately, he is going to be leaving Congress this year.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 1672, a resolution recognizing the 20th anniversary of the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War and reaffirming the commitment of the United States towards Gulf War veterans.

This resolution rightly recognizes the suffering and the needs of Persian Gulf War veterans who continue to suffer from Gulf War Veterans' Illness, GWI, without an adequate treatment or a cure. One in four of those who served in the first Gulf War experience multiple concurrent symptoms including memory and concentration problems, chronic headaches, widespread pain and gastrointestinal problems as a result of neurotoxic exposures during their Gulf War deployment. Research also shows that Gulf War veterans suffer from Lou Gehrig's disease at double the rate of their non-deployed peers. There is still no effective treatment for these veterans.

A groundbreaking report issued by the Congressionally commissioned VA Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses entitled, ``Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans'' identified two definite causes of the disease and a handful of other likely causes: exposure to pesticides and a drug given to troops to protect them from nerve gas.

The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, IOM, released a groundbreaking report on Gulf War health in April, acknowledging that over 250,000 Gulf War veterans suffer from a chronic multisymptom illness that it is not due to psychiatric causes. Perhaps most importantly, the report recognizes the need for national research program that is likely to succeed in identifying treatments for GWI that will also benefit other U.S. military forces.

For the past several years, I have led a bipartisan effort to support the Gulf War Veterans' Illness Research Program within the Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. The program was awarded $8 million in fiscal year, FY, 2010 and is critical following the Veteran's Administrations' decision this year to revisit rejected claims for Gulf War Veterans who have attempted to access treatment for the illness linked to their service. The research coming out of this program is among the most promising in the world for these veterans. We can and must do better than to forget the permanent sacrifices they have made. We must not rest until we identify treatments for them and ensure the exposures that caused the illnesses are not duplicated.

I urge my colleagues to continue this bipartisan effort as the FY 2011 Defense Appropriations bill and support funding for the Gulf War Veterans' Illness Research Program. We owe it to Gulf War veterans and all members of our Armed Forces to find a treatment.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 1672, a measure I have introduced to commemorate the Persian Gulf War and reaffirm our Nation's commitment to the veterans who served in it. A cease-fire was declared by President George Bush on February 28, 1991, 100 hours after the ground campaign began.

Yet, this war is far from over for the veterans who served so courageously in the gulf. In fact, an estimated 174,000 still suffer from Gulf War illness, including Gulf War syndrome. These veterans and their families must now wage a campaign of a different sort within the VA system.

This includes my constituent, Michelle Comeau, of Dixfield, Maine, who was exposed to toxic sarin gas as a member of the Army National Guard. This led to unbearable migraines that have since rendered her 100 percent disabled. In addition, her two daughters were subsequently born with rare birth defects, and have since developed symptoms similar to their mother.

Sadly, Michelle and many other veterans and their families across the country continue to suffer. Not enough is known about these illnesses, including whether or not it can be passed from one generation to the next. Because of this, it is critical that VA continues its research efforts on illnesses of Gulf War veterans.

This resolution we consider today commemorates the Gulf War and honors the noble service and sacrifice of veterans who served there. So it is also fitting that Veterans' Affairs Committee Ranking Member Steve Buyer is here today to speak on behalf of this resolution.

In addition to being a Persian Gulf veteran himself, Congressman Buyer began his career as a Member of Congress by leading efforts to create a national Persian Gulf War veterans registry. This important program was set up to provide a comprehensive physical exam and to track the special health concerns of veterans who served in the gulf.

I want to thank Congressman Buyer for his service to this great Nation of ours, but also thank him for his service, his time here in Congress, which I enjoyed working with him on the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me today in supporting House Resolution 1672, to encourage all Americans to remember and pay tribute to those veterans, and to let them know that their struggles and sacrifices will never be forgotten.