DAV Honors Sen. Bernie Sanders for Work on GWI, Other Veterans Advocacy

Sen. Bernie Sanders has for many years been a national champion for the estimated 250,000 veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suffering from Gulf War Illness as the result of their Gulf War service.  

Sanders and his talented staff have always been first rate in helping Gulf War and other veterans.  

Since serving in the U.S. Senate, Sanders has taken the lead each year in successfully championing annual funding for the acclaimed, treatment-focused Gulf War Illness Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP).  Perhaps also a result of this leadership, VA research is now reportedly also moving towards treatment for those suffering rather than efforts seemingly aimed at disproving Gulf War veterans' claims.  

Prior to his tenure in the Senate, Sanders was highly influential on Gulf War issues while in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Most notably, Sanders' role on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform helped hold VA and DoD to task on Gulf War health issues, a never ending task that continues to today.  

Sanders' recognition by DAV is well deserved, especially for his leading efforts on behalf of ill Gulf War veterans.  

-A.H.

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SOURCE: Burlington (Vt.) Free Press
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/viewart/20121020/NEWS02/310200013/Disabled-vets-group-honors-Sen-Bernie-Sanders

Disabled vets' group honors Sen. Bernie Sanders

BURLINGTON — Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has won a Congressional Leadership Award from the Disabled American Veterans (DAV).  

DAV national commander Larry Polzin said Sanders’ efforts have helped boost funding for post-traumatic stress disorder treatment, research into Gulf War illness and housing for seriously disabled veterans.

Sanders is one of two members of Congress to have won the award this year. The other is New York Republican Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-NY).

Sanders is a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.