§ 1117. Compensation for disabilities occurring in Persian Gulf War veterans

§ 1117. Compensation for disabilities occurring in Persian Gulf War veterans

(a)

(1) The Secretary may pay compensation under this subchapter to a Persian Gulf veteran with a qualifying chronic disability that became manifest to any degree at any time.

(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term “qualifying chronic disability” means a chronic disability resulting from any of the following (or any combination of any of the following):

(A) An undiagnosed illness.

(B) A medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome) that is defined by a cluster of signs or symptoms.

(C) Any diagnosed illness that the Secretary determines in regulations prescribed under subsection (c) warrants a presumption of service-connection.

(b)

(1) Whenever the Secretary determines under section 1118(c) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title that a presumption of service connection previously established under this section is no longer warranted—

(A) a veteran who was awarded compensation under this section on the basis of the presumption shall continue to be entitled to receive compensation under this section on that basis; and

(B) a survivor of a veteran who was awarded dependency and indemnity compensation for the death of a veteran resulting from the disease on the basis of the presumption before that date shall continue to be entitled to receive dependency and indemnity compensation on that basis.

(2) This subsection shall cease to be effective on September 30, 2011.

(c)

(1) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section.

(2) Those regulations shall include the following:

(A) A description of the period and geographical area or areas of military service in connection with which compensation under this section may be paid.

(B) A description of the illnesses for which compensation under this section may be paid.

(C) A description of any relevant medical characteristic (such as a latency period) associated with each such illness.

(d) If a Persian Gulf veteran at a medical facility of the Department presents with any one symptom associated with Gulf War Illness, the Secretary shall ensure that health care personnel of the Department use a disability benefits questionnaire, or successor questionnaire, designed to identify Gulf War Illness, in addition to any other diagnostic actions the personnel determine appropriate.

(e) A disability for which compensation under this subchapter is payable shall be considered to be service connected for purposes of all other laws of the United States.

(f) For purposes of this section, the term “Persian Gulf veteran” means a veteran who served on active duty in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia theater of operations, Afghanistan, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, or Jordan, during the Persian Gulf War.

(g) For purposes of this section, signs or symptoms that may be a manifestation of an undiagnosed illness or a chronic multisymptom illness include the following:

(1) Fatigue.

(2) Unexplained rashes or other dermatological signs or symptoms.

(3) Headache.

(4) Muscle pain.

(5) Joint pain.

(6) Neurological signs and symptoms.

(7) Neuropsychological signs or symptoms.

(8) Signs or symptoms involving the upper or lower respiratory system.

(9) Sleep disturbances.

(10) Gastrointestinal signs or symptoms.

(11) Cardiovascular signs or symptoms.

(12) Abnormal weight loss.

(13) Menstrual disorders.

(h)

(1) If the Secretary determines with respect to a medical research project sponsored by the Department that it is necessary for the conduct of the project that Persian Gulf veterans in receipt of compensation under this section or section 1118 of this title participate in the project without the possibility of loss of service connection under either such section, the Secretary shall provide that service connection granted under either such section for disability of a veteran who participated in the research project may not be terminated. Except as provided in paragraph (2), notwithstanding any other provision of law any grant of service-connection protected under this subsection shall remain service-connected for purposes of all provisions of law under this title.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply in a case in which—

(A) the original award of compensation or service connection was based on fraud; or

(B) it is clearly shown from military records that the person concerned did not have the requisite service or character of discharge.

(3) The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a list of medical research projects sponsored by the Department for which service connection granted under this section or section 1118 of this title may not be terminated pursuant to paragraph (1).

(i)

(1) The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that health care personnel of the Department are appropriately trained to effectively carry out this section.

(2) Not less frequently than once each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the actions taken by the Secretary to carry out paragraph (1).

(Added Pub. L. 103–446, title I, § 106(a)(1), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4650; amended Pub. L. 105–277, div. C, title XVI, § 1602(c), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–744; Pub. L. 107–103, title II, §§ 202(a), (b)(1), (d)(1), 203(a), Dec. 27, 2001, 115 Stat. 988, 989; Pub. L. 109–233, title V, § 503(1), June 15, 2006, 120 Stat. 415; Pub. L. 117–168, title IV, § 405, Aug. 10, 2022, 136 Stat. 1783.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Section 1118(c) of this title, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), was repealed by Pub. L. 117–168, title II, § 202(d)(3)(A), Aug. 10, 2022, 136 Stat. 1775.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 117–168, § 405(a), substituted “became manifest to any degree at any time.” for “became manifest—

“(A) during service on active duty in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War; or

“(B) to a degree of 10 percent or more during the presumptive period prescribed under subsection (b).”

Subsec. (a)(2)(C). Pub. L. 117–168, § 405(b)(3), substituted “under subsection (c)” for “under subsection (d)”.

Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 117–168, § 405(b)(1), (2), redesignated subsecs. (c) and (d) as (b) and (c), respectively, and struck out former subsec. (b) which read as follows: “The Secretary shall prescribe by regulation the period of time following service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War that the Secretary determines is appropriate for presumption of service connection for purposes of this section. The Secretary’s determination of such period of time shall be made following a review of any available credible medical or scientific evidence and the historical treatment afforded disabilities for which manifestation periods have been established and shall take into account other pertinent circumstances regarding the experiences of veterans of the Persian Gulf War.”

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 117–168, § 405(b)(2), (c), added subsec. (d) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (c).

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 117–168, § 405(d), inserted “, Afghanistan, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, or Jordan,” after “operations”.

Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 117–168, § 405(e), added subsec. (i).

2006—Subsec. (h)(1). Pub. L. 109–233 substituted “notwithstanding” for “nothwithstanding”.

2001—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–103, § 202(a)(1), amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: “The Secretary may pay compensation under this subchapter to any Persian Gulf veteran suffering from a chronic disability resulting from an undiagnosed illness (or combination of undiagnosed illnesses) that—

“(1) became manifest during service on active duty in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War; or

“(2) became manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more within the presumptive period prescribed under subsection (b).”

Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 107–103, § 202(a)(2)(A), struck out “for an undiagnosed illness (or combination of undiagnosed illnesses)” after “service connection” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (c)(1)(A). Pub. L. 107–103, § 202(a)(2)(B), struck out “for such illness (or combination of illnesses)” after “awarded compensation under this section”.

Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 107–103, § 202(d)(1), substituted “on September 30, 2011” for “10 years after the first day of the fiscal year in which the National Academy of Sciences submits to the Secretary the first report under section 1603 of the Persian Gulf War Veterans Act of 1998”.

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 107–103, § 202(b)(1), added subsec. (g).

Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 107–103, § 203(a), added subsec. (h).

1998—Subsecs. (c) to (f). Pub. L. 105–277 added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsecs. (c) to (e) as (d) to (f), respectively.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2001 Amendment

Pub. L. 107–103, title II, § 202(c), Dec. 27, 2001, 115 Stat. 989, provided that: “The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) [amending this section and section 1118 of this title] shall take effect on March 1, 2002.”

Pub. L. 107–103, title II, § 203(b), Dec. 27, 2001, 115 Stat. 990, provided that: “The authority provided by subsection (h) of section 1117 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), may be used by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with respect to any medical research project of the Department of Veterans Affairs, whether commenced before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 27, 2001].”

Regulations

Pub. L. 103–446, title I, § 106(d), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4651, provided that: “If the Secretary states in the report under subsection (c) [set out below] that the Secretary intends to pay compensation as provided in section 1117 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), the Secretary shall, not later than 30 days after the date on which such report is submitted, publish in the Federal Register proposed regulations under subsections (b) and (c) of that section.”

Agreement With National Academy of Sciences Regarding Evaluation of Health Consequences of Service in Southwest Asia During the Persian Gulf War

Pub. L. 105–368, title I, § 101, Nov. 11, 1998, 112 Stat. 3317, as amended by Pub. L. 111–275, title VIII, § 806(b)(1), (2), Oct. 13, 2010, 124 Stat. 2891, provided that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs was to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to review and evaluate the available scientific evidence regarding associations between illness and service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War, and that the section would cease to be effective on Oct. 1, 2018.

Improving Effectiveness of Care of Persian Gulf War Veterans

Pub. L. 105–368, title I, § 105, Nov. 11, 1998, 112 Stat. 3324, provided that: “(a) Assessment by National Academy of Sciences.—Not later than April 1, 1999, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to review the available scientific data in order to—“(1) assess whether a methodology could be used by the Department of Veterans Affairs for determining the efficacy of treatments furnished to, and health outcomes (including functional status) of, Persian Gulf War veterans who have been treated for illnesses which may be associated with their service in the Persian Gulf War; and “(2) identify, to the extent feasible, with respect to each undiagnosed illness prevalent among such veterans and for any other chronic illness that the Academy determines to warrant such review, empirically valid models of treatment for such illness which employ successful treatment modalities for populations with similar symptoms. “(b) Action on Report.—(1) After receiving the final report of the National Academy of Sciences under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, if a reasonable and scientifically feasible methodology is identified by the Academy, develop an appropriate mechanism to monitor and study the effectiveness of treatments furnished to, and health outcomes of, Persian Gulf War veterans who suffer from diagnosed and undiagnosed illnesses which may be associated with their service in the Persian Gulf War. “(2) The Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the implementation of paragraph (1). “(3) The Secretary shall carry out paragraphs (1) and (2) not later than 180 days after receiving the final report of the National Academy of Sciences under subsection (a).”

Agreement With National Academy of Sciences Regarding Toxic Drugs and Illnesses Associated With Gulf War