Dear Gulf War Toxic Casualty Client:

There has been great progress in the effort to persuade Congress to allow ill Gulf War veterans to claim against the approximately $2 billion in frozen Iraqi assets. On July 21, 1999, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Rep. Lloyd Doggett’s amendment, formerly known as H.R. 618, by a vote of 427 to zero. This amendment would allow you to file a claim against the Iraqi money. The Justice Department’s Foreign Claims Settlement Commission would make a decision, after a claims process, on the amount of the award to you. Rep. Doggett’s amendment is now up for consideration in regard to two bills under review by the Conference Committee of the House and the Senate, the “Embassy Security Act” (H.R. 2415) and the “State Department Authorization Act” (S. 886). As you know, Senator Jesse Helms, the powerful chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, opposes letting Gulf War veterans file claims against the frozen Iraqi assets. Your efforts now may make a big difference. The bills in question and the Doggett Amendment are supposed to be considered by the Conference Committee over the next two weeks. A list of the Conferees and their phone numbers are on the second page of the enclosed press advisory from the National Gulf War Resource Center, Inc. The enclosed press advisory covers the reasoning in favor of the Doggett Amendment. Please call and/or write some of the Conferees (especially the Senators and especially anyone from your state) and let them know of your support for the Doggett Amendment. Your effort on this may be crucial in making a difference in the outcome.

On the science front, the connection between illness in Gulf War veterans and genetic susceptibility to low-level nerve gas exposure proves to be of growing importance. The June 15, 1999 edition of Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology published research by Dr. Robert Haley, Dr. Scott Billecke and Dr. Bert LaDu that demonstrates the connection. Apparently there is an enzyme in the body, paraoxonase, that seeks out and destroys various chemical toxins, particularly the nerve agents, Sarin and Soman. Some people only have small amounts of the enzyme in them, and they are much more vulnerable to any exposure.

On Thursday, September 16, 1999, at 8:30 a.m. at 2101 Constitution Ave. in D.C., the National Academy of Sciences is having a public meeting on the topic of “Health Effects of Chemical and Biological Compounds Associated with the Gulf War.” Dr. Haley will speak, as well as Dr. Edward S. Hyman. Dr. Hyman has had some success with antibiotic therapies on Gulf veterans, which research is still pending publication. The National Academy of Sciences must do a report on the health effects and symptoms from exposure of Gulf War vets to low-level nerve gas and mustard gas, in order to implement the presumption-of-service-connection legislation that has been recently signed into law (discussed on pages 3 and 4 of my May 25, 1999 status report).

Also in my May 25, 1999 status report letter to you, I discussed Dr. Howard Urnovitz’s research that demonstrates a genetic marker in ill Gulf War veterans in relation to a genetic “hot spot” that is sensitive to chemical exposure. To have the RNA test done on yourself costs $250.00. If you want to have it done you can contact the

ImmunoDiagnostic website (http.//www.idl-labs.com/introorder.htm) or call them at 1-800-888-1113.

The litigation against the chemical companies, and the defendants Preussag and ATCC’s appeals on the jurisdiction issues, continue unabated.

The fourth annual Gulf War veterans conference will be held between September 19-21, 1999 at the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. You may call the National Gulf War Resource Center, Inc. at (202) 628-2700, ext. 162 for information, or visit its new website at http://www.ngwrc.org.

Public portions of my most current status report will be viewable on the website of one of your compatriot co-plaintiffs, Ken Rogers at: htpp://www.grapevine.net/~krogers/, who has kindly offered this service. I may publish a website in the future, but will use Staff Sgt. Rogers’ site for this in the meantime.

Thank you for your attention and assistance on the pending legislation.

With best regards, I remain

Encl:

GBP:miv