New Report on Gulf War Syndrome

The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses formally presented a major report on veterans' Gulf War illnesses to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on November 17, 2008. It is reported that the findings presented by the committee differ from previous reports (such as those from the Institute of Medicine) by implicating exposure to specific chemicals as the cause of Gulf War syndrome.

The federal government has been involved in the investigation of Gulf War illnesses for over a decade. In 1995, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12961 establishing the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses. Although the Committee was terminated in 1997, you can still access the archived website complete with meeting transcripts and reports.

Congress established the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses in 1998 by Public Law 105-368 known as the "Veterans Programs Enhancement Act of 1998." For some insight into the legislative history behind this act, you can read the following hearings and committee print available at McHenry library:

• "Persian Gulf War illnesses" (1997)


• "Full committee hearing to receive updates on research, investigations, and programs involving Persian Gulf War veterans' illnesses" (1998)


• "Report of the Special Investigation Unit on Gulf War Illnesses" (1998)

Congress has held subsequent hearings on the topic of Gulf War illnesses. To find other congressional materials, try searching in Lexis Nexis Congressional (OCA Required) and CQ Public Affairs Collection (OCA Required) is also a great place to find legislative chronologies.

Other government agencies and departments have also completed research in this area. The Government Accountability Office has released reports such as "Gulf War illnesses: DOD's conclusions about U.S. troops' exposure cannot be adequately supported" (2004) and "Department of Veterans Affairs: federal Gulf War illnesses research strategy needs reassessment" (2004).

You can also use the DTIC database to find Department of Defense reports and the Homeland Security Digital Library (OCA Required) to access documents from a variety of security-related entities.

The California Initiative Process

Californians had the opportunity to vote on 12 ballot measures in the November 2008 election. Voters passed 7 out of the 12 measures. Many are already looking forward to the 2010 election, as petitions for new initiatives are already circulating.

For more information on the California initiative process and how citizens participate in this form of direct democracy, take a look at the "Statewide Ballot Initiative Handbook" from the California Secretary of State for a brief overview on the statewide initiative process. For a more in-depth discussion, see "California's statewide initiative process" from the California Research Bureau (CRB).

For a history of California state ballot initiatives, see: "A history of California initiatives" (2002) from the California Secretary of State and "The initiative and referendum in California, 1898-1998" (2000) from Stanford University Press (requires OCA). To find the text of past ballot initiatives, search the "California Ballot Propositions (1911-present)" database from UC Hastings College of Law for state ballot propositions and these reports on the outcome of past County and Municipal initiatives from the California Secretary of State.

The California initiative process is the subject of research and discussion. The Public Policy Institute of California (a San Francisco based think tank) has produced a number of papers on the initiative process, such as "The California Initiative Process: Background and Perspective" (2000) and "The California Initiative Process-How Democratic Is It?" (2002). The PPIC recently released a survey of Californians' thoughts on the initiative process. You can find the results of that survey here. The Center for Governmental Studies (a Los Angeles based think tank) has also researched the initiative process and just recently released "Democracy by Initiative: Shaping California's Fourth Branch of Government, 2nd Edition".