Senator Murray Introduces Bill to Help Veterans with Multiple
Sclerosis Get Benefits
Legislation Cuts Red Tape by lifting the VA's 7-year Limit to Qualify
for Automatic VA Benefits

Murray's Bill Addresses the High Rate of MS Among Veterans;
Legislation is endorsed by MSVETS and National Gulf War Resource
Center

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 13, 2007

(Washington, D.C.) - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
reintroduced legislation to help more veterans who have Multiple
Sclerosis (MS) qualify for disability benefits from the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA). Under current law, veterans have a deadline of
seven years after being honorably discharged to connect their MS to
their military service. Murray's bill would remove the seven-year
limitation.

"This arbitrary deadline is another example of the unnecessary
bureaucratic hurdles our veterans face when they return home," said
Senator Murray. "This bill institutes a common sense approach that
gives our veterans every opportunity they need to get the coverage
they deserve. Especially now, as the administration continues to
shortchange veterans, we need to make sure that we are opening doors
to coverage rather than closing them."

A disproportionate number of veterans from the first Gulf War are
developing symptoms of MS, but they often face difficulty obtaining
disability benefits from the VA. Unfortunately, many veterans don't
develop the symptoms of MS until after seven years, making them
ineligible for automatic disability benefits from the Veterans
Administration. These veterans must then go through a lengthy appeals
process to prove that their disability is service-connected.

Senator Murray's bill is supported by a number of organizations that
represent veterans with MS, including the National Gulf War Resource
Center (NGWRC) and MS Vets.

"I applaud Senator Murray for working to clear the path to VA
benefits for those of us with MS," said Julie Mock, a leading
advocate for fellow Gulf War veterans who suffer from MS. "I have
watched too many fellow veterans struggle to get VA benefits simply
because the debilitating symptoms of MS showed up late or were not
properly diagnosed. We cannot force future veterans to endure the
same arduous process."

"Senator Murray has been a great champion of veterans with Multiple
Sclerosis." said Ed Butler, co-founder of MSVETS and a board member
of NGWRC. "We thank the Senator for her continued efforts and support
to end the VA's seven year presumptive rule for service connected to
Multiple Sclerosis. We pray that others will follow the Senator's
lead and support this bill and our nation's veterans."

"The environmental assault that those of us endured in the 1991 Gulf
War is very evident and is reverberated throughout the Middle East,"
Butler said. "This indicates that the disease may take longer than
seven years to develop. Senator Murray has had the foresight to forge
forward in context to the changing science and our veteran's needs."

In September 2005, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that, "of
the 700,000 U.S. troops who served [in Iraq] in 1991, a
disproportionate number experienced serious neurological disorders."
Whereas nationally, 1 in 700 people suffers from MS (.1%), the Post-
Intelligencer reports that 3 in 36 (8%) soldiers who served near
Julie Mock's battalion in Iraq have been diagnosed with MS, and one
is suffering from an undiagnosed condition.

Background information on veterans benefits, MS, and Senator Murray's
bill, follows:

WHAT DOES SENATOR MURRAY'S BILL DO?

The bill would remove the seven-year limitation for veterans trying
to gain service-connected status for their Multiple Sclerosis. This
legislation would ensure that a person diagnosed seven years and one
day after their honorable discharge from the U.S. military will still
get access to the VA treatment they need. Some veterans with MS have
difficulty receiving care since MS is not seen as service related.
Veterans with MS should not be penalized because their symptoms were
diagnosed more than 7 years after separation. Scientists aren't 100%
certain whether exposure to combat stress, experimental vaccines,
toxins released from oil-well fires, sarin from the destruction of
weapons caches, pesticides, pyridostigmine bromide pills (to protect
against nerve gas), or some combination of any of these causes
Multiple Sclerosis. There is a general consensus that MS is higher
among Gulf War veterans than the general population. This bill will
help veterans access the care they need by making MS a presumptive
disability, no matter when its symptoms emerge.

WHAT IS A PRESUMPTIVE DISABILITY?

Sometimes veterans return from military service with physical and
mental conditions that the VA presumes are linked to military
service. This means that science hasn't been able to connect a
disease with service without a doubt, but there is sound scientific
evidence that suggests there is a connection between exposures
veterans experienced and a disease they developed later. The VA
recognizes 41 chronic diseases for service-connected benefits, and
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is one of those diseases - but only for 7
years after a veterans separated from service. This means that a
veteran diagnosed with MS after the seven year window, has to prove
their multiple sclerosis was directly connected to their service.
Presumptive service connection is important to our veterans because
it helps them qualify for the benefits they deserve so they can get
appropriate treatment through the VA's medical system.

WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY?

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic neurological disease with symptoms
ranging from clumsiness to blindness to numbness. The problem with
the seven year limit for Multiple Sclerosis is that a person with MS
may not show symptoms for years even though they have the disease.
According to the VA's MS Center of Excellence, "there is considerable
evidence that MS precedes symptoms in most patients. Most patients
with MS have several lesions [shown on an] MRI at the time of their
first symptom."

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF AFFECTED VETERANS?

Approximately 700,000 U.S. service members were deployed to the
Persian Gulf during the 1991 Gulf War. According to a 2000 VA study,
Gulf veterans report being not as healthy as their military peers who
were not deployed in the Persian Gulf. A September 2005 Seattle Post-
Intelligencer article reported that, "of the 700,000 U.S. troops who
served there in 1991, a disproportionate number experienced serious
neurological disorders. More than 65 percent have sought health care
for service-related ailments. Nearly 200,000 are receiving disability
compensation -- twice the rate as vets from World War II, Korea and
Vietnam." Numbers of Persian Gulf War veterans diagnosed with
Multiple Sclerosis range, but according to the National Gulf War
Resource Center, "the rate of multiple sclerosis is rising among Gulf
War veterans."