EVALUATION OF HEALTH STATUS OF SPOUSES AND CHILDREN OF PERSIAN GULF WAR VETERANS.

SEC. 107. EVALUATION OF HEALTH STATUS OF SPOUSES AND CHILDREN OF PERSIAN GULF WAR VETERANS. (a) Evaluation Program.—Subject to subsection (c), the Secretary of the Veterans Affairs shall conduct a study to evaluate the health status of spouses and children of Persian Gulf War veterans. Under the study, the Secretary shall provide for the conduct of diagnostic testing and appropriate medical examinations of any individual— (1) who is the spouse or child of a veteran who— (A) is listed in the Persian Gulf War Veterans Registry established under section 702 of Public Law 102–585; and (B) is suffering from an illness or disorder; (2) who is apparently suffering from, or may have suffered from, an illness or disorder (including a birth defect, miscarriage, or stillbirth) which cannot be disassociated from the veteran’s service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations; and (3) who, in the case of a spouse, has granted the Secretary permission to include in the Registry relevant medical data (including a medical history and the results of diagnostic testing and medical examinations) and such other information as the Secretary considers relevant and appropriate with respect to such individual. Such testing and examinations shall be carried out so as to gather such medical data as the Secretary considers relevant and appropriate in order to determine the nature and extent of the association, if any, between illness or disorder of the spouse or child and the illness of the veteran. (b) Duration of Program.—The program shall be carried out during the period beginning on November 1, 1994, and ending on September 30, 1996. (c) Funding Limitation.—The amount spent for the program under subsection (a) may not exceed $2,000,000. (d) Contracting.—The Secretary shall provide for the conduct of testing and examinations under subsection (a) through appropriate contract arrangements. (e) Standard Protocols and Guidelines.—The Secretary shall seek to ensure uniform development of medical date through the development of standard protocols and guidelines for such testing and examinations. If such protocols and guidelines have not been adopted before the end of the 120-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, before the end of such period, submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report as to why such protocols and guidelines have not yet been developed. (f) Entry of Results in Registry.—The results of diagnostic tests, medical histories, and medical examinations conducted under subsection (a) shall be entered into the Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Registry. (g) Outreach.—The Secretary shall conduct such outreach activities as the Secretary determines necessary to ensure that implementation of this section results in sufficient information to enable the Secretary— 108 STAT. 4653 (1) to analyze the health status of large numbers of spouses and children of Persian Gulf veterans; and (2) to formulate research hypotheses regarding possible association between illnesses or disorders suffered by Persian Gulf veterans and illnesses or disorders (including birth defects, miscarriages, and stillbirths) suffered by their spouses and children. (h) Use Outside Department of Standard Protocols and Guidelines.—The Secretary shall— (1) make the standard protocols and guidelines developed under this section available to any entity which requests a copy of such protocols and guidelines; and (2) enter into the registry the results of any examination of the spouse or child of a veteran who served in the Persian Gulf theater which a licensed physician certifies was conducted using those standard protocols and guidelines. (i) Reports to Congress.— (1) The Secretary shall submit to Congress no later than October 31, 1995, a report on the Secretary’s implementation of this section. (2) The Secretary shall analyze the data entered into the registry under this section and shall submit to Congress, not later than March 1, 1997, a report on that analysis and on the Secretary's recommendation for any further legislation or studies regarding the health status of spouses and children of Persian Gulf War veterans. (j) Definitions.—For purposes of this section, the terms “child” and ''spouse” have the meanings given those terms in paragraphs (4) and (31), respectively, of section 101 of title 38, United States Code.