On March 14, 2014, Kirkpatrick cosponsored the Gulf War Health Research Reform Act of 2014 (H.R. 4261; 113th Congress), a bill that would alter the relationship between the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses (RAC) and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill makes the RAC an independent organization within the VA, requiring that a majority of the RAC's members be appointed by Congress instead of the VA, and states that the RAC release its reports without needing prior approval from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The RAC is responsible for investigating Gulf War syndrome, a chronic multi-symptom disorder affecting returning military veterans and civilian workers of the Gulf War.